Congregation marks site of first church on Huron Tract

The St. Columban Roman Catholic Church means a lot to Tom Melady and his family.

“I grew up here in St. Columban, and for 50 years I went to church here. As did my father, my grandfather and my great grandfather,” says Melady.

Many families spent generations at St. Columban’s church because it stood on this spot in Huron County for 174 years. It was the first church built between Goderich, Ont. and Guelph, as Irish immigrants cleared the land to settle in the area.

It survived a devastating fire in 1909 after community members rebuilt it. But, eventually, declining congregation numbers led to its demise in 2005, leading to its demolition in 2006.

A historic photo of St. Columban Roman Catholic Church from many years ago. (Source: Nancy Kale) “Up to now, there has been nothing to designate that a church stood here. It’s a parking lot, so we felt we needed to acknowledge this,” says former congregation member, Nancy Kale.

Kale and the Melady’s led the charge to erect a sign at the former site of the St. Columban’s Roman Catholic Church. They’re holding a dedication with the last priest ordained here on Aug. 7 at 2 p.m.

“Every small community was built on a church. Whether it was Methodist, or Presbyterian, or Catholics, the church was the community. And, unfortunately these small rural communities are closing down, and that’s why we put the sign here, to commemorate a small community that once was historically important, and socially important,” says Melady.

“To acknowledge the toils and hardships of our ancestors, who cleared this land, which was totally bush, the Huron Tract, back then,” says Kale.