ST. GEORGE ANGLICAN CHURCH, FAIRVALLEY
Anglican worship came to a “fair valley” community in 1833, even before the establishment of the Diocese of Toronto in 1839.
In 1832, Captain Elmes Steele and his 15 year old son John, arrived on their 1000 acre wooded estate, which was a land grant allotted to British officers. The next year, his wife and other four children arrived. They built a log house, calling it Purbrook. Captain Steele donated 100 acres as an endowment for a parish church and eight acres for a church building and cemetery.
At first, services were held in his home, led by the traveling missionary Adam Elliot.
Several years after the death of Mrs. Steele in 1846, Captain Steele married again. The eldest child of the second family was Samuel Benfield Steele. He served in a variety of military roles throughout his life. In 1914, Major-General Sir Sam Steele was serving in WWI. There are Steele memorials on the old Steele home site in Fairvalley, not far from the church and cemetery.
As the first incumbent of the Medonte Parish in 1835, the Rev. George Hallen emigrated from England with his wife and ten children. The Hallen home though small, served as both rectory and church for over seven years. On a trip back to England,
Rev. Hallen asked his home parish and his friends for donations to build ‘a church on the crest of a hill overlooking a “fair valley” and the blue waters of Georgian Bay’. It was to be called St. George, after his home church in England. The first building was a log structure located in the cemetery. Services began on July 30, 1846. The original building is no longer standing and the bell from that structure marks the location. Very little is known about this building as the records were destroyed in a fire at the Hallen home. This was the first site of Anglican worship in a church building in the Deanery of Huronia. The present brick church building was erected in 1886. Although the interior of the church has experienced changes to reflect a modern world, the exterior remains the same.
A large parish hall stood to the west of the present church, originally with a driving shed for horses and buggies. This building hosted Sunday school classes and special events, such as concerts and plays. During the 1990’s a smaller parish hall was added to the rear of the brick building for social activities. In 2017, the larger hall was demolished due to its deteriorating condition.
Captain Elmes Steele’s donation of land for a consecrated cemetery was in preparation for the death of his wife’s mother. If you wander through the cemetery you will find markers as early as 1844. Eleanora Hallen, daughter of Rev. Hallen was buried in 1845 and Capt. Elmes Steele’s grave is dated 1865. The history of many local families can be traced through the early grave markers.
We all know that a building is not a church. St. George has had a long and vibrant history through its congregation.
Worship continues every Sunday with members from near and far and of all ages forming a congregation that is friendly, supportive, inclusive and diverse. Come and experience the history and the liturgy.
The information in this brief history was taken from the book ‘A History of the Church of St. George Fairvalley Medonte’.
The incumbent at time of compiling the book for St. George’s 150 anniversary was the Rev. Patrick Yu, now retired Suffragan Bishop, Diocese of Toronto.