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“The story lives on in builders’ descendants”
by Susan Wilson
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A hundred years ago, the community of Essonville was centred on the junction of the Essonville Line and the road that ran from Haliburton to Tory Hill. And, a hundred years ago, the people who lived on the farms scattered over a three-mile radius around the hamlet decided that, since they already had a post office and a school, it was time they had a church. The story lives on in the descendants of the people who were involved at the beginning: Sylvia Battersby Cameron, whose father was one of the ministers; Francis Noble, whose father was involved in building the church and served as People’s warden for over 60 years; and Norma McCrea Noble, whose grandfather Richard Dunford owned the mill in Wilberforce where the lumber was sawn.
As was the custom, Christ Church was built through community labour with community funds. One old-timer recalled for the Monmouth Centennial Book the day a neighbour came to his home collecting money for the new church. They only had fifty cents but they were happy to donate it all. He said that, in all the years to follow, he was never down to fifty cents again.
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