Community saves beloved pioneer church

Sunday, July 13, 2025, marked the culmination of enormous efforts to save a community church from being demolished as the Madill Church Preservation Society celebrated the grand opening of its revitalization.

Initially, construction of the pioneer church began in 1872 on an acre of land donated by John Madill. It was completed in 1873 at a cost of about $600; each family in the congregation donated two round logs and labour to help with the build.

Many of Huntsville’s early settlers are interred in the adjacent cemetery, which is owned by the Town of Huntsville, including the town’s namesake, Captain George Hunt.

It was about eight years ago today that a committee of Huntsville Council was told that the United Church of Canada had no further congregational use for the church.

In response, councillors directed staff to seek public input, which was obtained through a public survey. There were 107 respondents to the survey, 60 per cent of whom came from the Huntsville area, 13 per cent from other parts of Muskoka and the Near North, and 27 per cent from the rest of Ontario, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and New York. Many noted several areas where they would be prepared to help preserve the church. The United Church of Canada also indicated its willingness to contribute the equivalent cost of demolishing the church, estimated at $7,500 to $10,000, to an organization willing to take ownership.

That same year, eight Huntsville community members bandied together to form a stand-alone, non-profit organization, calling itself the Madill Church Preservation Society, led by its president, Carolynn MacKay. A grateful Huntsville council agreed to cover the incorporation cost of the group for a total of $2,000 and transfer the Madill Church property to them.

In a very short time, the group incorporated as a non-profit under the umbrella of the Ontario Historical Society, accepted ownership of Madill Church, determined the renovation priorities, and began raising money for the restoration.

In 2022, the Huntsville Council agreed to provide $25,000 to the Madill Church Preservation Society to demonstrate support and help the community organization secure an additional $100,000 through a Heritage Canada grant.

By July 2022, the Madill Church Preservation Society had managed to raise over $225,000 through donations, grants from various levels of government, and donations to the Madill Church Preservation Society’s 150th Legacy Restoration Project.

Then, in May 2024, work to revitalize the building continued, and on Sunday, July 13, 2025, community members and church patrons gathered to celebrate the official opening of the revitalized Madill Church building.

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