History of the Church

At first, in 1860, members of the United Brethren in Christ from the West Montrose area worshiped in the Ebenezeer Chapel which was located on the Winterbourne Road at the Crowsfoot – the junction of the Winterbourne and Town Line Roads with the Conestogo Road.  At that time West Montrose was part of the Zorra Mission.  Local services started soon and were held in Jacob Brenner’s blacksmith shop in Winterbourne until the completion of the first church building, known as the Montrose Chapel, in West Montrose in the autumn of 1862.  Rev. S.L. Downey, a United Brethren in Christ missionary from the United States, was the first pastor.  West Montrose was on a three-point charge with Bloomingdale and Hawkesville from 1864, when the Hawkesville church was built, until c.1906 when Hawkesville closed.  The three congregations were variously on the Woolwich, Berlin and Waterloo Circuits over the years.  The name changed as churches were added and removed, but basically it was the same circuit.

A deep division in the United Brethren in Christ brought about a split in the Church in 1889.  The two groups which resulted from this split each referred to themselves as the United Brethren in Christ.  Some churches remain United Brethren in Christ today.  The others, including West Montrose, were of the group which joined with the Congregational Church in 1906.

Permission was given to the West Montrose congregation at the Quarterly Conference of the United Brethren in Christ on March 14, 1903 to proceed with plans for a new church building.  The present-day yellow brick church was built just south of the first one in 1907.  (The date marker above the front door reads Congregational Church 1907.)  The congregation is reported to have voted unanimously in favor of Union with the United Church of Canada in 1925; West Montrose was added to the Elmira Circuit c.1927.  In 1948 the Elmira Circuit consisted of Elmira, Conestogo and West Montrose.  As of June 1970, West Montrose was with Wesley United Church, Elmira in a two-point charge.  In February 1971, Wesley amalgamated with Zion United Church of Elmira; the name of the joint congregation became Trinity United Church on July 1, 1971.  West Montrose continued on in a joint charge with Trinity.

Records:

Baptism dates: 1925- Location of record: at church
Marriage dates: 1925- Location of record: at church
Burial dates: 1925- Location of record: at church

Records up to 1925 are said to be at the United Church Archives but are not in their catalogue.  Some marriages 1898-1931 are in the United Brethren, Congregational and Methodist [United Church] Marriages (Madill 1986a) – January 11, 1898-September 12, 1906; March 10, 1909-December 10, 1924; and February 18, 1926-December 14, 1931.  There are also references to West Montrose in the Waterloo Circuit Register of the United Brethren in Christ for the years 1874-1907.  The Waterloo Circuit Marriage Register of the United Brethren in Christ for 1898-1913 may also contain references to West Montrose.  These Registers are at the United Church Archives.