History

History

St. Paul's United Church

Prescott is a Loyalist town and St. Paul's Church can claim to be a Loyalist Church.

Early Methodism in Prescott and area ranged from 1785-1855.

In the aftermath of the American Revolution, the Heck, Dulmage and Lawrence families arrived in the area. Barbara Heck and Philip Embury started the first Methodist class in North America. Their influence was a catalyst for Methodism in Prescott. Their descendants have been very active in the history of St. Paul's Church.

William Losee, first ordained Methodist preacher, was the best remembered circuit rider who took responsibility in 1792 for the Oswegatchie circuit (Kingston east to the Lower Canadian border), which later became the Augusta circuit.

Losee was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church as were the Hecks and other Loyalist Methodists. In 1816 the British Wesleyan Missionaries came from England, thus many of the Methodist Episcopal Chapel in Prescott joined in 1833 with the British Wesleyan Methodist Church (England) to form the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Canada.

In the above picture you can see the Methodist Episcopal Church in the background.

In 1925, Methodist, Presbyterians and Congregational Churches united to form the United Church of Canada. A majority of Presbyterians refused.

In July, 1979, St. Paul's burned to the ground. Rev. Dermot Arscott was minister at that time. Everyone rallied to the cause and a new sanctuary was built.

However, in 1995, there was another fire disaster in the sanctuary, due to electrical causes. The pulpit and organ were destroyed.

Reference:

Excerpts from A Firm Foundation (A History of St. Paul's United Church) 1830-1980

By Elva Richards McGaughy

Coloured Photos by Fraser Carr

Click on the thumbnail prints.