Auld Kirk Church, Almonte

 church, cemetery, place with historical importance

In 1834 the Ramsay congregation of the Established Church of Scotland elected their first session, making plans to establish a burying ground and build a church in the early hamlet of Leckie’s Corners. The stone church was completed in 1836 and still stands today admidst the largest Protesant cemetery in the area. When the railway came to Almonte allowing the woollen industry to flourish,the people from Leckie’s Corners moved into town and the Auld Kirk was abandoned, eventually falling into disrepair. In 1938 a restoration project saved the structure and impressive iron gates were erected facing the eighth line.In recent years another restoration has seen the roof replaced,the windows restored and the stone pointed so now the stately structure is open on Decoration Day in August when hundreds of people bring flowers and share memories of their loved ones. An Ontario Heritage plaque erected in August of 1979 states the stone church is an attractive example of an early form of Gothic Revival Architecture and that it stands as a memorial to the pioneer Presbyterian settlers who worked so hard to build it.