Historical Timeline

The Birth of Central

This is where our story begins. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, one of the churches that will eventually come together to form Central, opens its doors in St. Andrew's Park.

In 1846, a new church, that would later become, Knox Galt Presbyterian Church is formed. It was located at the corner of Ainslie St. and Dixon St.

United Presbyterian Church, a forerunner of one of the churches that came together to form Central, opens its doors at Blair Rd and Metcalfe St.

United Presbyterian Church becomes Second Canada Presbyterian Church.

In 1866, Second Canada Presbyterian Church becomes Melville Presbyterian Church.

In 1869, Knox Free Church moves to a brand new building on Queen's Square (Today's Grace Church) and takes the name Knox Galt Presbyterian Church

In the same year, a breakaway church from Knox Galt, is formed. This church is another of the churches that will come together to form Central.

In 1879, Melville Presbyterian Church becomes Union Presbyterian Church

Bayne Presbyterian Church joins Union Presbyterian Church and together they work to create a new church.

The new church created by the joining of Bayne Presbyterian Church and Union Presbyterian Church becomes, Central Presbyterian Church. It's first service was May 18, 1880 and the cornerstone of our new building on Queen's Square was laid July 26, 1880.

Of course, this isn't where the story ends. For about two years, Central met in the old Union Presbyterian Church, while our building at 7 Queen's Square was built.

On March 4, 1882, Central opened the doors of its new building for the first time.

With Central growing substantially, a new gallery was added in the sanctuary to increase capacity to 1,000 people. In this same year, our first organ was installed.

In 1904, the gas lights were replaced with electric lights.

The chimes (bells) that are so much a part of Central's identity today, weren't always a part of the church. They were first installed in 1906.

Our Casavant Organ was also not part of the original sanctuary. It was installed in 1928, replacing an organ built by Warren and Company of Toronto, that was installed in 1892.

The parlour, offices, classrooms and what is now the maintenance room, were added in 1954

Situated right beside the Grand River, Central has experienced its fair share of weather related events. It has been flooded 12 times. When Hurricane Hazel struck southern Ontario, in November of 1954, of course, Central was flooded, but it also suffered more damage when its weather vane was blown off. The weathervane wasn't returned to its rightful place until the restoration of 2022.

Yes, the boat in that picture is floating down Queen's Square, right outside the church. The Victoria Day flood of 1974 was an epic event, the largest flood ever recorded in Downtown Galt. If you lived in Cambridge at that time, it's an event that's etched in your memory. The flood waters rose very quickly and the whole of Downtown Cambridge was submerged under the flood waters. Central, of course, was flooded, and yes, this was the 12th time in Central's history. The largest, and God willing, the last.

The time had come, after more than 60 years of service, Central had to invest in rebuilding its organ at a cost of $15,000

The time had come, after more than 60 years of service, Central had to invest in rebuilding its organ at a cost of $15,000

By 2011, our previous piano, a Steinway gernously donated by the Gourlay family, had reached the end and it was time to replace it. With our current Schimmel Grand Piano, we continue to lift our praise to God.

Times change and needs change. By 2016, our choir loft was getting old and worn out. With the decision made that it needed replacing, it was decided that a new, more flexible platform would better fit our changing needs.

Historic buildings need constant maintenance. Earlier, the slate roof over the church hall and the north half of the sanctuary roof was replaced. By 2022, the time had come. The remainder of the slate roof was replaced and a number of other necessary repairs were completed. This was a huge investment in the future of Central and it's a project that we are still paying off.