ouR historY  at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Orillia

Our church began as a Sabbath School established in 1834 by Mrs. James Dallas, one of the prominent settlers of the small village of Orillia. It was the first Sabbath School to teach the children of Orillia, and continued in operation until it was absorbed into the church in 1851.

Conscious of the need of regular ‘Gospel Ordinances’, eleven persons came together to petition the Presbytery of York to establish a Presbyterian work in Orillia, Oro, and Medonte in 1839. As a result, the minister of Knox Church, Spadina in York (now Toronto), Dr. Robert Burns, visited to conduct Divine Worship. Beginning in 1845, he and others visited the area at irregular intervals to conduct Gospel Ordinances. 

By 1850, things were going well. Orillia was growing impressively, as was the number of Presbyterians. A Call was extended to the Rev. John Gray, who had been conducting services in the area for some time, to become minister of Orillia Presbyterian Church (St. Andrew’s). The Orillia parish included Orillia, Oro, Medonte plus Vespra, Flos, Tay, Matchedash, Rama and Mara, making it no easy task to serve. For the first twenty years the minister held three services each Sabbath, then a fourth service was added for then next nine years. The minister’s Sabbath day journey was nearly twenty miles on horseback over insect infested trails, teaming with wild animals through all types of weather. Multiple weekday services added additional travel of an average of fifty miles per week. Dr. Gray was inducted in 1851 in James Quinn’s home, a tavern, which became Orillia House, on the main street. Church services were held in the bar, the pulpit being a beer keg. 

Our first church building was built in 1851, with the basement ready for services in the Fall. On March 14, 1852, the church was completed. This frame structure was enlarged twice, with a final seating capacity of 650. At this time, only Psalms were sung, not the hymns we know today. A ‘Presentor’ gave the pitch on a tuning fork, sang the tune, and the congregation would join, without instruments of any kind. In 1865 a pump organ was placed in the church, causing a fury! After the morning service, it was carried out to the street and thrown into the ditch. However, by the next week, all was well, and use of the organ became a regular part of worship. A choir and hymn singing soon followed. In the 1860’s, Orillia was very much a ‘livestock’ town, with farm animals mingling amongst the people on its streets. One Easter Sunday, a large billy-goat entered the Sanctuary during worship. While attempting to extricate the goat, several Elders and Deacons were bunted over the pews, briefly bringing the service to a halt.  

In 1888 the original building was partly demolished with the rear half becoming the Sabbath school hall. Construction began on our current Sanctuary in September 1888. It opened in July 1889, just eleven months later! In 1914, the north wing comprising the Sunday School Auditorium and Fellowship Hall area was added.

In 1983, the building was designated a Heritage Building in the Province of Ontario. A brief excerpt from the architectural summary by LACAC of the City of Orillia: “Architecturally, the building is quite unique, boasting three towers, one of round turreted version. Stone string courses and labels over doors and windows form a contrast to the red brick walls, which are also decorated with buttresses, and pointed gothic window and door openings. The building employs a basic transept type plan and rests on a limestone foundation. Decorative brickwork includes corbelling along the eaves and recessed stepping used at the doorways.