Heritage Plaque presented to owner of Second King Baptist Church

April 30, 2014 · 0 Comments

Alejandro Trujillo, owner of the Second King Baptist Church, receives the historic plaque from Mayor Steve Pellegrini and Councillor Debbie Shaefer. Joining them was Erin Ward-Williams.

By Angela Gismondi
The former Second King Baptist Church has been recognized by the Township of King Heritage Advisory Committee for its significant heritage value.
Peter Iaboni, chair of the Heritage Committee was at the council meeting on April 14 to present Alejandro Trujillo, owner of the property, with a heritage plaque for the church. He was joined by Mayor Steve Pellegrini and Councillor Debbie Schaefer, the council representative on the Heritage Committee.
Iaboni congratulated the property owner for working with the Heritage Committee to have the building designated.
“In King, we really believe the future includes the past and this is a perfect example of that,” said Iaboni.
The Second King Baptist Church building is one of the oldest places of worship in King. The congregation was active in the local community for over 150 years until 2008 when the building was converted into a private residence.
Located at 5010 18th Sideroad, on the north side of 18th Sideroad between 7th and 8th Concessions, the former Second King Baptist Church was designated by council in December.
The one-storey, board and batten clad dwelling is the oldest standing Baptist Church in the township and was once a place of worship for King’s early settlers. The congregation initially began to meet in 1848, however, had no building in which to meet in the cold winter months. In June of 1864, the church unanimously decided to build a chapel upon land offered by William Woodrow on the corner of his farm.
Members of the congregation formed a building subcommittee and the church’s building was constructed in circa 1865. During its early years the First Baptist Church on 12th Concession, which has since been demolished, and the Second King Baptist Church shared a pastor. The earliest known pastor was Reverend Alex Gay who was ordained in the church in Schomberg in 1883 and resigned the next year (1884). He was followed by Reverend Willet in 1884. In 1889 Reverend Bingham became Pastor and established the first Sunday school for children.
In terms of design value, the former church has a very simple style of architecture that would have been typical of many early places of worship. The front façade displays the original doorway with its decorative dentil detailing and colonettes. Above the front entrance is where the name of the church “Second King Baptist Church” and its date of construction “1848” were originally displayed. The sign block remains.