FRANKTOWN CASTLE

Tomorrow Sunday June 21st, 2015 a closing service will be held at 10:00AM for St. Pauls Church in Franktown, Ontario, Canada. 

     While I have never had the pleasure of driving along highway 15 on my way into Ottawa, It is my understanding that you could not miss seeing the Castle of the St. Paul Church.  I may never have known of the history of this Church if not for my perseverance.  You may have read in an earlier post of the MacFarlane family.  As a child I had discovered old photos and newspaper clippings my grandfather had kept. For many years I saved these old documents, later to discover they were of John Calvin MacFarlane (1889-1954), his wife Mildred Agnes Courtney and their daughter, Audrey Lenore Stuart MacFarlane (1922-2012).  As you may recall I had posted these photos to the internet in hopes of discovering who they were.  It was not until the passing of Audrey in 2012 that I would learn the story, and our family connection. 

Rev. Alexander Hastie MacFarlane
C. 1922. Ontario Canada

     Calvin MacFarlane was the son of Reverend Alexander Hastie MacFarlane, and the Great Reverend was the Minister of St. Paul Church. A cousin recently notified me that the Castle had been put up for sale for $199,000 in September 2014.  St. Paul's Church was built in 1901 for the cost of $6,100. 

St. Paul's 2005

The Stone Spire

The Church was designed by the famous Ottawa architect Moses Chamberlain Edey.

Moses Chamberlain Edey
Photo from Wikipedia

Rev. A.H. MacFarlane was born on June 29, 1848, in Dumbarton, Scotland, his father, James Edmond MacFarlane, was 29 and his mother, Mary Brooks, was 29. Both of Dumbarton, Scotland.   The Reverend married Ann Craig Howie on July 3, 1877, in Mansonville, Canada. They had six children in 10 years. He died on January 13, 1927. 

Rev. A.H. MacFarlane Family C. 1900 Canada

     Rev. A.H. MacFarlane emigrated prior to 1860 as a young boy with his parents and eight siblings from Scotland to Canada.  He grew up on Quay Street in Dumbarton Scotland, his father John MacFarlane was an officer of the town.  In 1861 the family is found residing in a one story log home in Brome, Canada.  His parents went on to live in Canada for thirty more years. 

Headstones of Mary Brooks & James E. MacFarlane.
Knowlton Cemetery Canada.
Photo by: Graceti

     After more than a century in operation, the congregation of St. Paul's Church decided to sell it.  After many months on the market for $199,000 they had to lower the price by $50,000 to sell this historic Romanesque style Church and historic landmark.  Rev. A. H. MacFarlane retired in 1913.