April 26, 2025

For several decades I have noticed an old church on the east side of Highway 10 just north of Melancthon. I finally decided to go up Melancthon Sideroad 280 to have a look. What I found is that it has been closed for over 8 years.

The first settlers in Melancthon arrived in the 1840s and soon the Beachell Hotel and Tavern was a popular rest stop in the area. The town grew quickly and by 1851 there was a post office in the general store. Although the area tended to be largely Protestant there was a sizable Catholic population in Melancthon Township. A hewn-log Catholic church was built in 1858 which also served as a school and was later named St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. This building was used for twenty years before it was decided to replace it with a brick building. As the community of Melancthon slowly disappeared, the attendance in the church dropped off. By 2017 there were only about 40 people left in the congregation and the building was deteriorating badly. It was decided to leave the building and amalgamate with the Trinity United Church in Shelburne. The building has stood empty now for the past 8 years and its fate is in the hands of the Catholic Diocese of Hamilton.

Melancthon soon had 4 hotels, a blacksmith, undertaker and several stores. An Orange Lodge was built in 1858 and a Methodist Church in 1860. A town hall was added in 1874. Things changed rapidly after the First World War as the lumber industry was finished and changes in agriculture styles left the town in a continual downward spiral. Soon, all the commercial buildings and industries were gone and now only the church remains. In the cemetery beside the derelict building are 171 headstones that mark the graves of some of the areas earliest pioneers.

An abandoned house sits on the 300 acre farm across the road from the church. The only thing that is springing up in Melancthon these days is windmills for generating electricity. For miles around, the Amaranth Wind Farm is a sight for sore eyes. One of the windmills can be seen peeking out from behind the house in the picture below.

The fate of the church remains to be determined but if the complete loss of the rest of historical Melancthon is any indication, the days are numbered until it is gone too.

Google Maps Link: Melancthon Catholic Church

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