Construction began on Old St. Thomas Church in 1822 and was completed two years later, and so this year marks its 200th anniversary.
We spoke with Steve Peters, who sits on the church restoration committee, on the founding of what was originally known as St. Thomas Anglican Church, located on Walnut Street.
“Daniel Rapelje, the first settler of St. Thomas, had two sons pass away in 1819 and he had buried them on this land and then in 1821, he donated land for the church and cemetery.
“Construction began on the church in 1822 and was completed in 1824 and opened when the first minister was appointed.”
It is considered an example of Early English Gothic Revival architecture.
The first incumbent, the Rev. Alexander Mackintosh, served from 1824 to 1829 and was also the village’s schoolmaster.
Peters explains the significance of the church in southwestern Ontario.
“Certainly in southwestern Ontario, it is the oldest church between Six Nations, south of Brantford and a church in Amherstburg.
“It pre-dates anything else in this area, so it is very much a part of southwestern Ontario history.”
In 1982 the church site was designated an Ontario heritage site and in 1986 it was restored and renovated.
The church has a connection to a well-known London institution through an early St. Thomas brewery.
The Labatt family lived in Glanworth, and it was closer to come to church here in St. Thomas than it was to go to London.
“So, the Labatts had an early connection with the church, but also in the brewing business, Samuel Eccles, who had established a brewery here in 1833, sold his brewery and went to London in 1846 and he took John Labatt in as a partner and until about 1854, it was the Eccles and Labatt Brewery.
“Samuel Eccles and his wife are buried here in this cemetery.”
Peters details the early days and look of the church.
“The tower at the front, the bell tower, was added about 1825 and the southern part of the church, known as the transepts, were added in the 1840s to give it the look that it has today.
“One of the unique features of the church is the utilization of the old box pews. These pews were actually rented by family members. Col. Thomas Talbot having a front-row rental.
“It wasn’t until 1873 that the church pews became free, but that didn’t last long because the church was only used until 1877 when Trinity Church on Wellington Street was completed.”
“Five years ago, we put about $65,000 to put a brand new roof on it. So, we’re constantly looking at how we can preserve this for the future and thanks to the restoration committee, God willing it will continue.”
The congregation began with only 12 parishioners in 1825 but grew to 41 by 1827. In 1833 the church was consecrated.
A later addition to the church is the stained glass window that dominates the south wall.
“This window was installed in the 1930s by the local Masons,” explains Peters. “The Freemasons had a long connection with the church. When Rapelje’s sons passed away in 1819, there was no clergy here, and one of his sons was a Freemason and he was buried with a Masonic burial service.
“So, the Masons have had a long connection to the church and this window was installed by the three local lodges in the 1930s.”
If you have attended a Christmas carol service in the church, you are well aware of the need to bundle up as there is no heat in the church.
We asked Peters if that had always been the case.
“There was heat. You can still see remnants (of pipework) in the ceiling and there are old interior photographs that show there was a wood stove in here at one time.
“How long it was used, we don’t know. Certainly, in the past 60 years, there has been no heat in this building.”
Despite the lack of heat, the building is lovingly maintained to this day by the restoration committee.
“We have an amazing restoration committee. There has been a restoration committee involved with the church since 1894 and it’s a group of people just interested in preserving this church for future generations.
“We’ve raised a lot of money over the years and it’s all been reinvested in the church. Even in the last three years, we’ve spent over $100,000 doing brickwork.
“Five years ago, we put about $65,000 to put a brand new roof on it. So, we’re constantly looking at how we can preserve this for the future and thanks to the restoration committee, God willing it will continue.”
The bell currently in the church is not the original one and Peters details efforts being made to return it to Old St. Thomas Church.”
“One of the interesting things right now is when the church closed in 1877, the bell was removed and taken to the new Trinity Church at the time.
“It’s the third oldest bell in Ontario and dates from 1838. It actually has a connection to Paul Revere. The foundry that it was made in, in Massachusetts, had a connection with Paul Revere.”
“When Trinity closed in 2020, the bell was left behind and with the current owners, the St. Thomas Islamic Centre, the bell is not utilized in their prayer services, so we’ve had discussions with the Islamic Centre about repatriating the bell and having the bell removed from the bell tower there and brought back here.”
“We still have to plan whether we would put it back in the tower or not. That’s to be determined. But, we’re going to work closely with the Muslim community to have the bell brought back.
“We’ll pick up 100 per cent of the costs. So, that’s another one of our bicentennial projects.
“It’s the third oldest bell in Ontario and dates from 1838. It actually has a connection to Paul Revere. The foundry that it was made in, in Massachusetts, had a connection with Paul Revere.
“The bell itself is about 28 inches in circumference and it weighs about 500 pounds and the intent is we’ve engaged a firm that specializes in bell removal and bell restoration to have a team go up and lower the bell down and then it would be moved from the church.
“So, it would be an interesting process.”
The current bell has an interesting origin, which Peters notes.
“It was installed sometime in the 1940s or 1950s. It’s from a steam locomotive and, definitely, the bell itself we know the steam locomotive that it came from and it was a locomotive that passed through St. Thomas, so the current bell certainly has a connection to our history, but our original bell has even more connection.”
Although there are no regular Sunday services, that doesn’t mean Old St. Thomas church sits idle throughout the year.
“The first Sunday of every December, we have the Christmas Carol Service that is used to raise money for the Salvation Army. It’s been going on for over 30 years and is extremely popular.
“We serve hot cider and church-shaped cookies and it’s always been a really good way to kick off the Christmas season.
“Over the past number of years, we’ve had a summer concerts series on Wednesday evenings. We allow different local performers to come in and utilize the building.
“In the summer, we also have tour guides, two students who we hire. The church is open throughout the summer.
“But the church itself is available for weddings. There are really no full burials left in the cemetery, there may be a few down the road.
“We have a scattering garden that is becoming extremely popular with people. So, it is still used and we are connected with the St. Thomas Anglican Church, and if someone wanted to book a wedding or a funeral, that is who you would contact.”
And, as Peters explains, activities are planned to celebrate the bicentennial.
“Future-wise, we’ve struck a bicentennial committee to plan a number of events. We just held a New Year’s levy. We’re looking at the development of a publication documenting 200 years of history.
“We’ve got a church service planned for the summer that will be a special 200th anniversary church service.”
Old St. Thomas Church is open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May to late August. Summer staff are on duty for tours of this historic Anglican Church and cemetery.
You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Old-St-Thomas-Church/100064479407949/
A ‘BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY’ NOW CALLS ALMA COLLEGE SITE HOME
We referenced this last November in a conversation with Mayor Joe Preston.
It’s all about seeing cranes reaching up into the sky over St. Thomas.
That was the observation of Preston on Nov. 22 for the groundbreaking ceremony at the 14-storey Highlands Tower 1 apartment building.
It’s Phase 2 of the redevelopment of the former Timken Canada property at Talbot Street and First Avenue.
That crane has had company of late as Phase 2 of Alma College Square begins to take shape on the site of the former school for girls.
We had a lengthy chat with Michael Loewith, the driving force behind the re-purposing of the Alma College site into a three-tower residential complex.
As we overlooked the construction site from a vantage point inside Phase 1, the eight-storey building with 156 units virtually fully occupied, Loewith outlined what was taking place below.
“The foundation slab is in and we have the tunnel that will be between the second and third building (see photo above) now in and we are just waiting for the pre-cast panels to start to be delivered on the 29th of this month.
“It will take about seven months and the entire tower will be up.”
Phase two will be nine stories in height and house 167 units.
“We’re going to complete the first four floors,” explained Loweth, “and once those floors are completely done, we’re going to start moving people in. And that should be around August of 2025.
“The whole building will be done in the first part of December 2025 and then we’ll occupy the remaining floors.”
The second tower will overlook the ravine at the south end of the property, offering a spectacular panorama for many of the units.
“The way we positioned the building, the end units plus all the units on the south and east sides will have direct ravine views. It’s going to be pretty great.”
We asked Loewith if the individual units in Phase 2 would closely mimic those now occupied in Phase 1.
“What we’re doing is we took our most popular units from the Phase 1 building and those units will be in the second building. The remaining units are all extra large.
“We wanted to make super, family-sized units, two bedrooms plus a den, a powder room. Most of the units in the second building are basically 1,200 to 1,500 square feet.”
As for amenities, Loewith assured all the amenities in the first building will be in the second building. Plus a few more.
“That includes a rec room, a lounge, a gym, a car wash, a dog wash, a woodworking shop, electric vehicle charging, storage lockers and bike lockers and all of that will be in the second building.”
The additions in Phase 2 will be “an office-sharing area, so for someone working from home there will be wifi, data ports, and a presentation screen so people can have meetings in there.
“We’re also doing an indoor pool and that will be accessible to all three buildings. It will be in the southwest corner with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the ravine.”
We’ll look at Phase 3 in a moment.
Loewith pointed out that the first building as well as Phase 2 are pre-wired with EV chargers in the underground parking.”
We asked him about the takeaways from the first tower that will be addressed in Phase 2.
He was quite forthright.
“We’re pretty fortunate we didn’t make a lot of mistakes on the first building, but we did make a few. Some lighting, electric plugs, and potentially flooring, so all that experience we gained on Phase 1 will be transferred to Phase 2.
“But, what’s really incredible, is when each floor is actually built and walking through those corridors, around those corners and the image I have in my head, when you actually see it in real life, it’s pretty incredible.”
“Each building we do, when I’m finished it, I always think that’s the perfect building, no change is required. But then, every single building that you do, you do see that you can improve and every building is a little bit better than the last one.
“The Phase 2 building, we’ve been working on those floor plans for almost two years. I feel I know every corner, every nook and cranny of that building on paper.
“But, what’s really incredible, is when each floor is actually built and walking through those corridors, around those corners and the image I have in my head, when you actually see it in real life, it’s pretty incredible. There is a story about every wall, why it’s positioned the way it is, every counter, every window and how it is positioned. Even the slabs, I painted out exactly where the units are going to be and where the windows are so I can what the view out of each unit will be, even at this stage when there is no building.
“So, to actually walk into a unit a see the view you anticipated, it’s pretty great. The real reward in this business is talking to the people who live in the building and listening to their stories and hearing how happy they are.
“And the community that these great people have created in this building, it’s pretty amazing.”
“But, sometimes I step back and look at the whole building and I see the people coming and going, laughing and having a nice time and enjoying life and it really hits me that we’ve created something special here.”
Included in the layout of the property are several heritage features paying tribute to Alma College, including a garden area, a stand-alone structure to commemorate the main building tower and restoration of the amphitheatre at the east edge of the 11-acre property.
“Most of that is around the Phase 3 area,” advised Loewith, “but at the end of Phase 2, we are going to rebuild the amphitheatre.”
Phase 3 will be the smallest of the three towers with seven floors and 108 units.
“A few months ago, a group of alumnae came to the building and we had a presentation on Alma College. And, we had a videographer come and we interviewed about 20 alumnae and we asked them two questions. What was your favourite memory of Alma College and what was your funniest memory of Alma College?
“We got all of that on video and hear all those amazing stories and what we’re going to do is on the heritage signs around the property we’re going to have a QR code so if you’re walking the grounds you can scan the QR code and listen to the stories and that will be with us forever.”
“It is going exactly the way we had hoped. We put the pieces in place for the community to thrive, but we can’t do that, the people have to do that and we have a really great group of people here who have created a beautiful community.”
So, what is the timeframe for the final piece of the residential housing puzzle?
“I think we’ll get Phase 2 up and going, we’ll see how quickly it leases up and we might start that a little sooner.”
Initially, the feeling was the entire project would be completed over an approximate span of 10 years.
To begin wrapping up the discussion, we asked Loewith what goes through his mind as he looks out over what has been accomplished to date.
“It’s amazing when I drive in the laneway my problem is I’m looking to see if the grass is cut properly or if there is any litter around. I’m kind of micromanaging everything.
“But, sometimes I step back and look at the whole building and I see the people coming and going, laughing and having a nice time and enjoying life and it really hits me that we’ve created something special here.
“It is going exactly the way we had hoped. We put the pieces in place for the community to thrive, but we can’t do that, the people have to do that and we have a really great group of people here who have created a beautiful community.”
PROVINCIAL DOLLARS TO RENEW CITY-OWNED HOUSING STOCK
More good news on the housing front. At Monday’s council meeting, Heather Sheridan, Director of Social Services, advised members the city has been approved for $3.5 million in funding from the National Housing Co-investment Fund through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The money will be used to repair and renew a minimum of 375 units of city-owned housing stock. This represents about 30 per cent of the total cost of the undertaking.
The city’s financial obligation is $8.2 million.
According to Sheridan, “the cost-sharing period begins 2 years prior to January 2, 2024, and continues until January 2, 2027. Funds that have been utilized over the past 2 years by the city to repair and renew housing stock, would be included in the calculation of the 70% contribution from the city.”
Funding can be used toward 30 per cent of total eligible costs, up to a maximum of $10,000 per unit.
The following are targets that need to be met through the agreement:
• 30% of units must be at or below 80% of Median Market Rent for no less than 20 years.
• A reduction in portfolio energy consumption and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
• 20% of all units within the housing portfolio must meet the accessibility requirements.
• Best efforts will be made to ensure a minimum of 33% of units repaired target women and women led-families.
Over the past two years, the city has spent $3.2 million which can be counted in the agreement with CMHC.
Sheridan advised her department is responsible for about 525 units of housing in the city and across Elgin county.
IT SURE IS A DIFFERENT DIMENSION
In 2021, the East Elgin Family Health Team was allocated $66,000 in funding, through the city’s Health Recruitment Partnership, to support the recruitment of two new physicians, with “limited success,” according to a report from city manager Sandra Datars Bere.
So, as is the fashion with organizations across many sectors of the economy, the health team would like to use a portion of these funds to work with a fee-for-service recruiter.
In other words, a head-hunting firm.
The health team has been made aware of a fee-for-service recruiter who may help them recruit one physician from the U.K.
Earlier this month, the Health Recruitment Partnership approved spending up to $33,000 to secure the services of this recruiter, subject to the approval of city council.
One would think this would be a slam dunk, especially when dealing with healthcare and the dire need for such in the east end of the county.
“I’m not in support of the report. We’ve had good success in the past without this added support. It’s a different dimension.”
Coun. Tara McCaulley had no concerns.
“I do support, we have to look at different ways of doing things.”
Coun. Jeff Kohler echoed a similar sentiment.
“I will support this, the money is a drop in the bucket. We have to look at unique ways, there is a lot of competition out there.”
Not so fast, interjected Coun. Lori Baldwin-Sands.
“I’m not in support of the report. We’ve had good success in the past without this added support. It’s a different dimension.”
There may have been success in the past, however as Coun. Kohler pointed out, it is a highly competitive playing field out there.
That is the different dimension.
The old way of doing things, in this case, is not the best way of doing things.
The progressive voice of council prevailed and the motion to proceed with the fee-for-service provider was approved 8-1.
Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope
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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
