The Churches of Galetta
St. Augustine's of Canterbury Church
St. Augustine's of Canterbury Church at 100 Huxley Street is designated by the City of Ottawa under the Ontario Heritage Act as having cultural heritage value or interest.
The Church of England parishioners in Galetta attribute the successful building of this church to Reverend T.J. Stiles of Arnprior. Rev. Stiles selected the name St. Augustine's of Canterbury to honour his alma mater, St. Augustine's College of Canterbury, England.
Mr. and Mrs. George Whyte donated the church site on which the cornerstone was laid in 1902 by the Venerable J.J. Bogert, MA, Archdeacon of Ottawa. Built of solid brick, St. Augustine's was fully paid for upon its completion. The church was consecrated by Right Reverend Charles Hamilton, Bishop of Ottawa, in a ceremony attended by clergy from surrounding parishes.
A rectory was built nearby in 1910 to provide residence for the clergy who served Antrim and Galetta. When Pakenham was added to the charge of parishes along with Waba, Packenham became the clergy's residence upon the closure of the Galetta rectory.
Regular services at St. Augustine's ended in 1994. The church was closed in 2000 and subsequently purchased and converted to a private residence.
St Columba Church
For many years, the Presbyterians and Methodists from Galetta and the surrounding district worshipped in Mohrs Corners Methodist Church. Prior to that, services were held as early as 1846 in Hunt's schoolhouse. For the 40 years after the opening of the Mohrs Corners Church in 1873, services were conducted by the Methodist minister from Arnprior and the Presbyterian minister from Fitzroy Harbour. This arrangement ceased about 1913, when the Presbyterian minister at Fitzroy Harbour instituted Presbyterian services in Galetta Hall on a regular basis.
In 1916, the Ottawa Presbytery recognized Galetta as a congregation. After the congregation passed into the United Church of Canada in 1925, the members decided to build their own church and selected Lot 88 on Ann Street as its site. The church was named St. Colomba after the saint who brought Christianity to the early Scots ) by Reverend Duncan Robertson, a native of Perth County, Scotland, who was the minister of the church when it opened in 1928.
St. Columba was very active over the years with Red Cross meetings during the war years. In addition to the regular Sunday services, there was a Vacation Bible School, business meetings, teas, bazaars, and anniversary dinners. However, with the closing of Kingdon Mines in 1931, the congregation began to dwindle. Through the dedicated support of a few families, St. Columba continued to operate on a regular basis until 2007 when the church ceased conducting services. The property was sold and the building has been converted to a private residence.
…from “Beyond our Memories”
by the Fitzroy Township Historical Society