Walking Among the Stones

Welcome to our online resource - we invite you to look around and freely access any of the resources that might enhance your own research efforts. The current focus of research is the Stone Church Cemetery at 652 Vermilyea Road in the former Sidney Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada.

The text on a plaque placed near the road by the Ontario Government in celebration of historic buildings tells the tale of this Stone Church. "Stone Church, one of three known cobblestone churches in Ontario, is part of a small group of cobblestone buildings in this area. It was built in 1853-6 on land belonging to John Fretz to house the local Wesleyan Methodist congregation. Although the church's interior was remodelled in 1893 in the then popular Italianate style and altered again in 1927, its exterior remains largely intact. This simple design, characteristic of the denomination's architecture in the mid-nineteenth century, relies upon the textured cobblestone surface and the dressed stones at the corners of the walls as well as the harmonious arrangement of the various arched openings. The building served as a place of worship until 1968 when its parishioners moved to other neighbouring United Church congregations."