Over 225 Years Ago...
“As the ship sailed into the mouth of the Niagara River in July 1792, Robert Addison caught his first glimpse of the little village of Butlersburgh that was to be his home for the next thirty-seven years. At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a line of bush along the shore of the Niagara River. This was the place he had been sent to as minister and missionary…”
– St. Mark’s Celebrating Since 1792,
By Fred Habermehl & Donald L. Combe
St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake has a rich history, dating back to 1792, making it the oldest Anglican community in the Diocese of Niagara and the second oldest continuously used Anglican church west of Quebec. Originally established by Rev. Robert Addison, in 1792 as the first resident missionary of Niagara, the church has played a significant role in the area’s religious and historical landscape. The church, completed as early as 1794 and no later than 1804. Early services were held in the Masonic lodge or the court house. During the War of 1812 the church was used as a hospital by the British forces and later as a barracks and hopistal by the occupying American forces. The church was damaged by fire and was subsequently rebuilt from 1822 to 1826 and consecrated in 1828.
The church consists of a Library and Parish Hall named after Rev. Robert Addison. The library consists of a collection of 1300 sixteenth and seventeenth century books that were left to the church “in perpetuity” by his grandson and now resides in Addison Hall, the parish hall which bears his name. The oldest book was published in 1548.
The cemetery in St. Mark’s churchyard is the oldest operational cemetery in Ontario. The land was likely used as a burial ground by local Indigenous populations prior to colonization as well. The earliest stone in the cemetery is that of Elizabeth Kerr, daughter of Sir William Johnson, 1st Bt, and Molly Brant, dated 1794. Other notable internments include Major The Rev. Benjamin Handley Geary, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, and the Rev. Robert Addison, the first rector of the church, interred by the north transept of the church and memorialized by a plaque on the church wall.