St Raphael Church Ruins Phot Shoot

St Raphael Chrush Ruins Shoot

The church burnt in 1970 with nothing left standing but the stone walls. Restoration work continues to this day.

From Wikipedia: 

 

Charlottenburgh and Lancaster were two of the original eight “Royal Townships”, established along the Saint Lawrence River in Upper Canada in the 1780s. This area was first settled by United Empire Loyalists. The development of this area was encouraged by Sir John Johnson, then the Superintendent General and Inspector General of Indian Affairs, who had been forced to abandon his land holdings in New York State during the American Revolution.[2] Johnson built a house in Williamstown; the home was completed in 1785 and is now a Canadian National Historic Site, the Sir John Johnson Manor House. A grist mill and saw mill, now gone, were also built on the same location. Williamstown also has the oldest house in Ontario, The Bethune-Thompson House built in 1784. Occupants over the years have included the Reverend John Bethune (1751–1815), the great-great-grandfather of Doctor Norman Bethune, and David Thompson, Canadian explorer.

From the late 18th century to the early 19th century, the area was almost entirely settled by Scottish highlanders, especially from Inverness-shire, after the Highland Clearances. Canadian Gaelic / Scottish Gaelic had been spoken in Glengarry County since its first settlement in 1784.[3]

Some of the main partners of the North West Company, including Hugh McGillis, lived in this area.


Ruins of St. Raphael’s Church
Alexander McMartin, the first person born in Upper Canada to serve in the Legislative Assembly, was from Martintown.

The Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame is located in Williamstown. The Nor’Westers and Loyalist Museum is also located in Williamstown.

Williamstown is also home to Ontario’s oldest continuing agricultural fair,[4] which celebrated its bicentennial in 2012.[5]

South Glengarry is the location of four National Historic Sites of Canada: the Bethune-Thompson House,[6] the Glengarry Cairn,[7] the Sir John Johnson House,[8] and the ruins of St. Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church.[9]


Operation of a horse-powered treadmill around the turn of the 20th century, Martintown.
St. Raphael’s Catholic Church was completed in 1821 under the authority of Alexander Macdonell later Bishop of Regiopolis (now Kingston, Ontario). This is one of the oldest churches in what was then the colony of Upper Canada. In late 1970, the church interiors, roof and tower were destroyed by fire, but the ruins were preserved. In 1973, a smaller church with the same name was built, attached to the ruins.

The township was established on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former Townships of Charlottenburgh and Lancaster, along with the Village of Lancaster.

The old Bell that was broken in the fire has been restored as best possible and greets visitors.

i love this image that i converted to B&W and liad on the ground and shot up through the bars into the front of the church.

There are so many angles to shoot its hard to decide. In this shot I added two headstones from the surrounding graveyard to highlight the age.
This was shot our the window from the back of the church to the graveyard and farmers fields beyond.
The front view leading up to the ruins.

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