Clarendon and Miller Community Archives
HAMLETS
Ardoch Churches
St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church
In 1866/67, when the district was sparsely settled, Reverend J.J. Chisholm from Perth made visits to Ardoch. After his death, no priests came to the area for three years. Reverend C.A. McWilliams was the next to visit; he came to both Ardoch and Ompah. Other priests made a few visits including Father D. Mcrae, J.J. McCarthy, P.A. Twohey and M. Donohue.
The Reverend V.J. Killeen began making trips to Ardoch in 1889 from his parish in Bedford. He was instrumental in having St. Kilian church built in Ardoch in 1892. In later years, the rise in summer visitors made the small church inadequate, so in 1967 a new church, also called St. Kilian, was built across the road. The new church was used in the summer months and the original church was used in the winter. In recent years, the new church was winterized to be used year-round and the original was closed.
In 1900, a change was made and the mission was attended for 10 years by the Marist Fathers then living in Railton. The Fathers' names were:
G.M.B Bridonnaeu (1900)
Chas. Grenot (1903)
J.M. LeNeillon
J.M Castex
LeCarie
LeClerc
Louis Chailloux
Bovens and others.
In 1910, Ardoch became a mission of Flinton and has been served by pastors from Flinton since that time. Father John Powell was the pastor from 1910 to 1916. Other pastors included:
Edgar Piche (1916-30)
W.J. Kinlin (1930-42)
Joe Collins (1942)
WM. J. Buckley (1942-49)
L. Lamarche (1949-52)
John Ferguson (1952-59)
Jas. McGarvey (1959-63)
Peter Murphy (1963-70)
Patrick Carty (1970)
St. John’s Anglican Church
Around 1866-67 when the area was sparsely populated,Rev. Dr. J.J. Chisholm of Perth made visits to Ardoch about four times a year. He visited lumber camps and offered Mass in settlers’ homes including at the Jacobi and George Weber houses in Ardoch.
Prior to 1894 Ardoch and Ompah did not have Anglican Church buildings. With pressure from the Minister, G.W. Dawson who arrived in the Buckshot area in 1877, built two additional churches in 1894- St. John’s Church in Ardoch and All Saint’s Church in Ompah. From Alex Munro’s diary in the year 1903, it was determined that the members of Ardoch church built a fence around the grounds of St. John’s and George Hermer and Jos. Schonauer (both of Roman Catholic faith) built a shed for churchgoers.
There were key people in each of the churches who raised funds for maintenance. At St. John’s, there were annual turkey raffles at Christmas, quilt-making for raffles, and many church suppers. In order to have funds for major renovations, they established a memorial fund where each family in the congregation had the opportunity to donate $100 in memory of their family. At St. John’s, in later years, there were four ladies who led the fundraising efforts: Winnie Martin, Anne Hamilton, Ina Watkins and Allie Mieske.
In 1994 the outside of the church was painted for its 100th anniversary; in 1995 a railing was added on to the steps compliments of Bill McDonald; and in 1996 the inside of the church was painted for only the second time since it was built. In 1996 the organ was tuned for the first time. In the 2000s attendance was low and joint services were held with the Plevna church. Then St. John’s was open only for summer services. In recent years, the church has been used for special services only.