The original church building at WGBC, had its beginnings in 1905 with a local family, the Barnum’s. Three brothers, Charles, Nelson, and Bill Barnum all took up land on the north side of Pine Lake, Bill at the head, Nelson the foot and Charlie in the middle. Charlie’s wife, Jane had a brother who was a minister – Dr. Albert Thomas Sowerby who came to spend his holidays with his sister. Sowerby would preach at the old schoolhouse while he was here. Through his presence, a Baptist following developed and, in 1905, the Barnum family donated the land for West Guilford’s first church building and cemetery.
A meeting was held on August 25, 1905, at the schoolhouse to consider the advisability of erecting a ‘Regular Baptist Church’ in the neighbourhood. Dr. Sowerby described a suitable building for the purpose and showed how the property could be laid out for burial grounds. To this day the cemetery remains the only one in Guilford township. The first burial at the church, in 1906, was that of a nine-year-old girl (Winnifred Barry, daughter of Mathias & Bertha Barry) who had died the year before and was transported from Maple Lake Cemetery to join her family’s plot at WGBC.
The church was built during 1905-06 in the time-honoured fashion of holding a ‘bee.’ Everyone joined in, both members of the congregation and their friends. Logs were donated by local farmers and taken to Jack & Harry Horsley’s local sawmill, located on what is now Eagle Lake Road.
According to the Rev. J.W. Bee’s notes on the church’s’ history, it was believed that Dr. Sowerby solicited funds from other churches to help with the cost of erecting the church and he furnished the church with chairs, organ, pulpit, and a silver communion goblet set.
During the August 25th meeting a committee was appointed to secure subscriptions and attend to other work necessary to erect the building. The committee was as follows: Chairman – Mathias Barry, Clerk – John Barry, B. Sawyer, N. Barnum, and F. Barnum.
The following gentlemen were elected as the first trustees of WGBC: C. Barry, F. Barnum, and M. Barry.
The total spent on the village’s first church was $383.95.
Charter Members of West Guilford Baptist Church:
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Barnum, Mr. Nelson Barnum, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Sawyer, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Barry, Mr. and Mrs. Mathias Barry, Mrs. Ted Isles, Miss Dora Horsley, Mr. and Mrs. John Henderson Sr., Mr., and Mrs. Fred Barnum, Mr. Ernest Hide and Mr. and Mrs. John Barnum.
Interim Ministers and speakers were used and students from McMaster College in Hamilton would come up for the summer months, along with musicians-in-training to provide special music. They would arrive by train on Saturday, preach on Sunday, and go home on Monday. Ben Walling of Haliburton would lend the speaker a horse or drive him in the wagon to get to the morning service. In those days the road was no more than a trail through the bush.
The church continued this way until Rev. F. E. Manktelow came in 1932 and took up residence in the area and became the permanent minister of the church. At that time the ministry was a 3-point charge including Ingoldsby, WGBC and Haliburton.
Pastor’s Report of March 1938:
Rev. Bee wrote: “I have preached 127 sermons: conducted three funerals: 68 prayer meetings: gave eight Baptist Youth talks and performed five marriages. I have made 374 calls for an average of 34 a month at 163 places. I have travelled 3,682 miles for the field (as near as I can tell). The cost of running the car has been as follows: gas $95.00; oil $9; tires $33.35; garage $7.50; greasing $1.90; licences $8.00; chains $4.32; repairs $9.96. For a total of $169.03. The car seems to have averaged only about 12 miles to the gallon.
The average attendance at church has been 33.1 at Haliburton; 33 at West Guilford; 19.2 at Eagle Lake and 13.4 at Allsaw. The average attendance at prayer meetings was Haliburton 12.4; Guilford 14.6. Membership is as follows: Haliburton 31; West Guilford 42 and Ingoldsby 18.”
Ministers/Pastors and their terms:
Fall 1906 – Spring 1918 – Rev. George R. Finch
Spring 1918 – Fall 1919 – Earnie Orsborn
Spring 1920 – Fall 1921 – Walter Fleischer
Spring 1922 – Fall 1922 – A.E. Dallimore
Spring 1923 – Fall 1923 – James Boyd
Spring 1924 – Fall 1924 – George Cowle
Spring 1925 – Fall 1925 – Wilson Morris
Spring 1926 – Spring 1928 – Cecil Hollands
Spring 1928 – Fall 1928 – Roy Essex
Spring 1929 – Fall 1929 – Mr. Lambert
Fall 1929 – Spring 1930 – Rev. F. Haskins of Alberta
Spring 1930 – Fall 1930 – Mr. Mather
Spring 1931 – Fall 1931 – Walter Schell of Selkirk
Spring 1932 – March 1932 – James Simpson of Waterford
Dec 11, 1932 – March 1936 – Rev. F. E. Manketolow
May 29, 1936 – April 1944 – Rev. J. W. Bee of Vernon, Ontario
Nov 1945 – Spring 1946 – Mr. Waldo Penner
Spring 1946 – Fall 1946 – Bill Graham
Feb 3, 1947 – Dec 1948 – Rev. John Mair of Hamilton
April 1950 – 1954 – Rev. E.A. Lorimer
1954 – 1956 – Rev. W.J. Robertson
May 1957 – 1989 – Rev. J. E. Smith
Oct 1989 – 1990 – Pastor Plouffe
May 1992 – 2001 – Rev. Paul Benson
2001 – 2003 – Ron Mahler
2004- – 2009 – Burt Zavitz
Oct 2012 – June 2022 – Brian Plouffe
June 2022 – Present – Dr. Shaun Turner & Amy Turner
Sunday School/Kids Church
The Sunday School started about the same time as the church. Over the years it would cease to function and restart several times.
Ministries
Ladies Group:
The first ladies’ group was called “Mission Circle,” it held meetings once a month either at someone’s home, or at the church. The ladies held bake sales and bazaars on the front lawn of Dr. Carrol’s home in Haliburton. Some of the ladies involved at the beginning were Ruth Bain, Marj Bain, Mae Cooper and her mother, Ruby Roberts, Joy Fielding and many others were quite involved with the groups activities to raise money for missions and to provide funds which were donated to the church.
Often the Haliburton Baptist Ladies joined with the Guilford women and called their group the “Sunshine Sisters,’ like the Prayer Sisters that some churches still have today. The secret of who your ‘sister’ was, would be revealed at the Christmas party.
L.I.F.T.
Ladies In Fellowship Together:
This ladies group met every first Thursday of the month.
Men’s Fellowship
Each month on the first Saturday morning a fellowship breakfast was held.
Ladies Bible Study
Every 2nd Wednesday morning the ladies would gather at for an hour.
Changes to the building and interesting facts
Many changes and improvements have been made to the church building since it was built.
The exterior of the church was brown until 1930 when it was upgraded and painted white.
In 1925 the church had a narrow escape from destruction when it was hit by lightening which set fire to the roof. Fortunately, Charley Barnum, son of Deacon Barnum, was working on the road near the church and saw the fire. He found a long pole, placed it against the building and climbed onto the roof. He managed to reach the fire and beat out the flames with his hands before it spread.
During 1926/27 the entrance door was changed from the front to the side of the building. The stone foundation was rebuilt, and the roof renewed. Improvements were also made to the cemetery at this time.
In 1930 the interior of the church was papered with white wallpaper.
In the late 1930’s-early 1940’s the interior walls were covered with gyprock and painted. The outside walls were covered with novelty siding and painted, a woodshed was built, and some improvements were made to the cemetery.
In 1950 the floor was covered with new linoleum.
In 1951 most of the chairs were replaced with new pews donated from the Clarenceville Baptist Church of Quebec.
In 1952 the church was redecorated inside and out, and a new entrance door installed, and roof built over the entrance.
In 2002 the church underwent a major building project/upgrade and has been maintained to present day.
In the summer of 2024 the old deck was removed from the front of the church and a new portico was added to the entrance.
Dedications of Gifts to the Church
May 19, 1949 – A silver communion bread plate was dedicated by Alma Morrison in memory of her father, Alfred Jones.
1947 – 2 collection plates, a light for the piano and pulpit were dedicated by Mr.G. Clancy and his daughter Joy Fielding in memory of Mrs. G. Clancy (wife & mother).
1974 – A communion table (made by Roy Schroter of Haliburton) was dedicated in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Garold Clancy by daughter Joy Fielding and grandson, Richard.
1975 – A cross (made by Rev. J. Smith) was dedicated in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bain by their family.
1976 – Two sets of hymn books were placed in the church in memory of loved ones and Rev. Smith donated 2 collection plates and decorated some of the windows.
1991 – A proper basement was constructed, and the original building was lifted and placed on top. The side door was closed and a door opening to the lake side was installed putting the door back to its original position. The balcony and stairways were also built.
A piece of property was gifted to the church adjacent to the current property and was used for a parking lot.
June 28, 1992 – The newly renovated church was re-dedicated.
February 17, 1993 – Ownership was legally transferred from the Baptist Convention of Ontario & Quebec to West Guilford Baptist Church.
January 1995 – WGBC was featured in the Trent Valley Association of Baptist Churches, written by Richard Fielding.
1996 – More improvements and redecorating were done. Leaded glass ornamentation designed by David Pequegnat, was installed at the top of each window.
October 26, 1996 – West Guilford Baptist Church adopted its current constitution.
(Condensed & Updated from The History of WGBC by Isabel Knapp written in 1996)