Ellis Chapel celebrating 165th anniversary

PUSLINCH – Ellis Chapel is celebrating its 165th anniversary this year and has two special services planned this summer.

If you’ve never been, it’s worth the trip, says board member Gayle Rice.

“It’s a hidden gem,” she said. “Local people know about it but not many others.”

The church is located at 6705 Ellis Rd. (Sideroad 10 North) and while Google puts it in Cambridge, it’s just west of Wellington Road 32 and firmly rooted in Puslinch Township.

It was constructed in 1861 by local pioneer families, who used hammers and saws and brute strength to build the chapel.

Even now, a visit to the chapel feels like a trip back in time.

According to local history, the land was donated by Mary and Edward Ellis, who were among the earliest settlers in the township.

“Much of the land was covered with forest, which provided lumber and fuel for the building and heating of their log homes,” reads a brief history of the church, written by Anne Evans in 1963.

“After this came the clearing of land so they could grow food for themselves and their animals. Within a few years a log school was built for the education of their children.

But “the longing still lay deep within their hearts for a place of worship.”

A board of directors was formed, legal documents were signed and organizers connected with Wesleyan Methodists, who became administrators of the church, although it was interdenominational.

Most of the original features are still in the chapel: the raised dais, pews, wood trim pine flooring, six Gothic windows and a double door with an arched window above.

It took more than a year to build. Work had to stop while the harvest came in, but by the summer of 1861 the official opening was planned.

“An occasion such as this did not come often in the life of the early pioneer,” Evans wrote. 

“Some walked, some came on horseback, and others arrived in carriages. It was a day of gladness as well as of solemnity.”

But by 1879, with more churches in the area and carriages a common form of transportation, attendance at the little chapel dwindled.

It remained open for Sunday school classes for children for a time but eventually fell into disuse.

The windows were boarded up, the place was locked up and it was practically forgotten.

But almost 100 years after its construction, “family descendants formed a board of trustees and restored the church, after which – in August of 1963 – a service was held in the newly restored building,” states the history on the Ellis Chapel website.

Because there is no heat, the chapel is closed in the winter. 

But in the summer, there are monthly Sunday services, and they do host weddings, baptisms and memorials. It’s also available to rent for community purposes.

And it has been designated a provincially recognized heritage site.

To celebrate the 165th anniversary, interdenominational summer services are planned for July 19 and Aug. 16.

Rev. Jen Sokolowski will be the guest speaker on July 19 with music provided by Norm Hughes and Friends.

Rev. Caleb Hall will be the guest speaker on Aug. 16, with music by Paul McDonald and Friends.

Anyone is welcome to attend, to see the chapel and appreciate the work and resolve it took those early pioneers to clear the land and construct the church.

For more information visit ellischapel.ca.