History

St. James Presbyterian Church has been serving the community of Stouffville for 150 years. The church started as a ‘satellite’ (although I am sure this word was not known or used) to MelvillePresbyterian Church on the Sixth Line [now Kennedy Road] in Markham.  The members of that church who lived in Stouffville, plus others who were resident in the village and who were membersof the Presbyterian Church in Canada in connection with the Church of Scotland formed this congregation in 1859.

Knox College students conducted services in the Temperance Hall on College Avenue.  Later Rev.James Gordon, the regular minister at St. Andrews Markham, provided pulpit supply.
James Johnson, an ardent member of the congregation and a wealthy member of the community, spearheaded the erection of a place for the Stouffville congregation to worship, and in the fall of1864 a frame building was dedicated on the present site, the land being a donation from Mr.Johnson.

The congregation grew and was part of a joint charge with Markham from 1867. In 1878 the church was separated from St. Andrews, and made a mission charge.  It would be during this period that Hector Urquhart, one of the two early elders, [the other being William Mitchell], would drive his buggy to the church in Cedar Grove to bring the student minister up for the service.  For a number of years there were many students who served for about three months at a time.

The next step in the growth of St. James was the erection of our current building.  This substantial brick church reflects the workmanship of that era.  Nathan Forsyth was the contractor and carpenter, and the Mitchell brothers of Ringwood were the bricklayers and masons.  The building was dedicated on the 21st of October, 1894.  At that time there were an average of eighty to one hundred persons taking communion, which of course means that the number of members would be somewhat higher.  Following the dedication of the building a large number of people joined the church. During the next thirty years Stouffville and Melville once again became a joint charge.

In 1915, the first move for a union within the Christian churches in Canada was initiated within Melville church under Rev. Mutch.  There was a vote taken and there was a total of 89 votes, including adherents.  In 1925, when there was a vote in the Presbyterian church regarding uniting with the Congregational and Methodist churches to form one body for worship 49 members of St.James voted to join the Union and 29 voted against.  Thus the congregation and the minister at that time, Rev. Mr. Young, also would join the United Church of Canada.

Thirty-six members did not want to join, and so asked for their membership certificates, with the intention of retaining a Presbyterian church here in Stouffville. As the congregation had voted to join the union, the building was now part of the new denomination, and the parishioners who wanted to remain Presbyterian had to compensate the United church for the building.  St. James and St. Andrews, Markham were once again united as a joint charge, and remained that way until 1974. During this time, the congregation dwindled to eleven members in 1937.  In 1941, John A. Mitchell,one of the first session members died; he had served St. James for over sixty years, and had helped guide the church through good times and bad.

The brave congregation struggled to keep this building going, but during the winter in war years some services were held in homes.  In 1949 a student, Donald McKillican was appointed to Markham and Stouffville; Presbytery felt that the congregation was too small, and was determinedto close the church.  However, among the new elders elected was William Morris, who was equally determined to keep the congregation going and the church doors open.
St. James has had more ups than downs since that time; the congregation has steadily grown and in 1974 the joint St. Andrews / St. James charge was once again separated and St. James became a Mission charge.  In 1976 we became the smallest self-supporting Presbyterian congregation in Canada, with some detractors murmuring that this might not be a successful move.

During these years there were extensive improvements and renovations to the building.  A cementfloor was put in the basement in the 1950s.  The back addition was built in 1982. “Morris Hall” was renovated and named in 1989 to commemorate the many contributions of the Morris family to St. James.
The manse was built in 1974 on property that the church had purchased in the early 1960s.  The house to the east of the church was purchased in 1988 with the same foresight for future expansion.

All in all we have much to thank God for as we look back over the history of this congregation. There are many memories in the walls of this church: happy times, sad times, large crowds and very small congregations; work bees to keep the building fit for its calling as a place of worship and witness.  May we, as the present congregation, be worthy of the trust placed upon us by the stories of the past;  may we fulfill the aim and desire of the early members of St. James as being a place where the love of God continues to shine forth into the community around us.

Ruth Burkholder, Archivist