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Our History

The date stone in the wall over the entrance doors to the Alberton Church reads "Presbyterian Church Alberton A.D. 1878." Now that's a long time ago but the truth is that this is only part of the story. That 1878 date relates to the present building. Actually, a Presbyterian congregation was established and began to meet for worship at this same location in Alberton in 1846 - 32 years earlier.

Imagine! Within 35 years of the War of 1812 Presbyterians in the Alberton area were organizing this congregation. Presbyterians had been meeting for worship in Alberton for 20 years already when Canadian Confederation was enacted in 1867. In a way you could say that the Alberton Church is older than Canada itself.

Presbyterians in Alberton established this congregation almost 30 years before the various Presbyterian groups that had been transplanted in Canada from their roots in Scotland came together to form the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Alberton has been a part of that denomination since its founding in 1875.

And yes, the Alberton Presbyterian Congregation actually existed even before the name Alberton was chosen for the community. Originally called Ancaster West, the name Alberton didn't appear until about 1854.

Now, it is not our intention to attempt to chronicle all that has happened in the life of the Alberton church since 1846. In fact, while we respect our heritage and those who have gone before us in the faith, we are actually more interested in the present and in our future. However, to help assure that the story of our past will not be lost we intend to preserve some of the surviving pictures, documents and accounts that tell that story right here on our website. Hopefully this material will answer some of the questions that people today may be asking about Alberton's past.

Pages from our Past

History of the Presbytery of Hamilton In 1990 the Presbytery of Hamilton published "Wee Kirks and Stately Steeples" which included a brief historical sketch of each congregation within the Presbytery. The presentation on the Alberton Church was prepared by the late Jean Morwick. To read what she wrote saelect Alberton Church in "Wee Kirks and Stately Steeples."

Alberton Church Historical Sketch - 2002 In 2002 Jean Morwick prepared an updated historical sketch of the Alberton Congregation which was published in the form of a small booklet. It contains the sketch that was published in "We Kirks and Stately Steeples" in 1990 but also included information that updated that sketch until 2002. That helps to keep the historical sketch of the congregation up to date. To view or download this booklet simply click on Alberton History 2002.

Some other sources of information about Alberton Church and its people:

Ministers: Alberton Church For those interested in the past we have also prepared a list of the Ministers who have served the Alberton Church since the Rev. J. Fayette accepted oversight of the congregation in 1846. Simply click on Alberton Church's Ministers"

St. Andrew's Cemetery Records Alberton Church does not have its own cemetery but has long shared in maintaining the cemetery at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ancaster. For those researching local or family history there is an alphabetical listing of all burials in the St. Andrew's Church Cemetery up to July 2008. For access to the list click on St. Andrew's Cemetery.

Alberton Church Windows As part of our 170th. Anniversary celebrations we released a small booklet illustrating the stained glass symbols incorporated in the Alberton Church sanctuary windows and the people that were memorialized. We invite you to view this material on the website by selecting Alberton Windows.

Historical Archives As part of our 170th. Anniversary celebrations in November of 2016 we gathered a considerable number of clippings, photos and remembrances from the congregation's past. We plan to display some of that material on the website and are planning on opening up a new Archive section to accommodate it.