On September 17, 1890 the foundation stone of St. Luke's Anglican Church (Thunder Bay, Ont.), taken from the old Fort William trading post and dating back to 1732, was laid by the Miss McIntyre, daughter to the Governor of the Hudson Bay Fort. The land for the church was given to the Bishop of Algoma by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The first service held at St. Luke's Church was on December 14, 1890. Rev. M. Charles Kirby preached in the morning and Rev. E. Jackson of Port Arthur preached in the evening. In 1894 a church rectory was built.
On February 21, 1895 a committee decided St. Luke’s ought to become self-supporting. In the same year, the committee started looking for a new location for the church, and the issue carried on until 1905. The space surveyed, however, became home to the new St. Paul’s Anglican Church (Thunder Bay, Ont.), which opened in 1908.
As for St. Luke’s, the south end was enlarged in 1896; chimney built and south wall re-plastered in 1899; fence gifted by Messrs M. Sellers and W. Tully in 1900; new seats replaced chairs in 1906. New plans were brought up to move the church onto a foundation and brick veneer it. This was finally carried out in 1910.
In 1914 a new location for the church was again suggested. Instead, a club room was built on a vacant lot west of the church by the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. This building was to act as a place for Bible class and reading room for men. The club room opened February 19, 1914.
St. Luke's was badly damaged by fire in 1916, but a few repairs and improvements on the building were completed within a few months. In 1920 another motion to find a new location for the church was brought forward, but it was decided to expand the church on its present land. In 1924 a new organ was bought and an organ chamber constructed. A church hall was built in 1926. In 1930 a furnace was installed in the rectory and the window in the east end was replaced as a memorial to Mrs. Tharle. In 1933 repairs were done to the basement and rectory. In 1954 a church bell was donated and placed in the steeple.
In 1960 an addition was built at the cost of $15,000, which included a new entrance and an increased seating capacity. The addition was dedicated by Archbishop Wright in 1961. As a centennial project the church was cleaned and restored.
Incumbents have included: Rev. Charles Kirby (1890-1895), Rev. E.J Harper (1895-1909), Rev. H. Frankland (1910-1911), Rev. S.N. Rankin (1911-1912), Rev. Canon W.A.J. Burt (1912-1919), Rev. Canon J.C. Popey (1919-1932), Rev. Canon S.F. Yeomans (1932-?), Rev. David N. Mitchell (1953-1959), Rev. H.A. Vallis (1959-?), Rev. William Ellam (1974-1979), Rev. E.P. Moyle (1979-?), J.P Williams.
Sources:
- "Lakehead Parishes Celebrate Founding", The Algoma Anglican 10, no.1 (1966): 4A. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_003_012 [accessed 21 August 2015]
- "Lakehead Parish Marks 70th Birthday", The Algoma Anglican 5, no.2 (1966): 5.
- "St. Luke's Thunder Bay, in 1980 observed church's 90th anniversary", The Algoma Anglican 26, no. 6 (1981): 6. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_012_021.
- "Centennial at St. Luke's, Thunder Bay" and "St. Luke's, Thunder Bay--", The Algoma Anglican 38, no. 2 (1991)
- “Fifty Years of Service”, St. Luke’s Church Fort William, Ontario, 1936, St. Luke’s Anglican Church (Thunder Bay, Ont.) sous fonds, Algoma University Archives, 2014-064_001_004_001.
