13784 Dundonald Rd, Dundonald

The following text is a verbatim rendition of the Centennial Anniversary program for the Dundonald Church, issued in 1974. It is reproduced here for a rare glimpse into the political, financial and social issues facing the rural Methodist community over a century ago. Turning back the pages of history 100 years, at the centenary, we discover that the community in which the church was founded was known as “Dudley’s Neighbourhood”, and Dundonald was located a short distance to the East. Some time later, when the general store and post office of Dundonald became relocated in Dudley’s Neighbourhood, it became known as “New Dundonald”. Subsequently the whole area became known as Dundonald again.

The land on which the church was built was purchased from Thomas G. Murphy and his wife, Martha S. Murphy, for the total sum of one dollar. Austin Dudley, William Walker, Schuyler Tompkins and Almond Drinkwater, who were appointed trustees of the Methodist episcopal Church, acted as purchasing agents.

The grant is dated June 13, 1874, and was registered on August 11, 1874 at 10 a.m. It was here at this site that the first sod was turned and cornerstone laid for what we know today as Eden United Church. The exact date of this ceremony is not known. According to available records, the church was not completed until 1876 – two years seeming to be a reasonable length of time for construction. The Church, affiliated with the Colborne circuit was dedicated in 1876 as a Methodist Episcopal Church as the plaque on the front of the church testifies.

History or Associative Value

The Eden United church began in an area called “Dudley’s Neighbourhood”. The first sod turning for the sturdy brick “country” church was in 1874, after the purchase of land for $1.00, a very reasonable sum, it was dedicated in 1876 as Methodist Episcopal and became United with most other Methodist churches in 1925.