The Auld Kirk Scotch Settlement is a historic settlement located in the former township of West Gwillimbury (now Bradford West Gwillimbury). It is located on the 6th Line, west of the 10th Sideroad, street number 3380. The church is one of several old Presbyterian churches that merged to form St. John's Presbyterian Church in Bradford West Gwillimbury.

The Settlement and its History

There is a plaque erected by the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites that is situated in front of the present day church. It states "In 1815 some 140 Highland Scots from Lord Selkirk's Red River Settlement, disheartened by crop failures and the opposition of the North West Company

North West Company

The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

, moved to Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

.

After traversing the five hundred miles of rocky wilderness between Fort Garry

Fort Garry

Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's Fort Gibraltar. Fort Garry was named after Nicholas...

 and Fort William

Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

, they were transported in the Nor 'Westers' canoes, to the outlet of the Nottawasaga River

Nottawasaga River

The Nottawasaga River is a river in southern Ontario, Canada. Its headwaters are located on the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine. It flows through the Minesing Swamp, recognized as a wetland of international significance , and empties into Nottawasaga Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay, at...

, which they ascented to Willow Creek, thence over the nine-mile portage to the head of Kempenfelt Bay

Kempenfelt Bay

Kempenfelt Bay is a 14.5 km long bay that leads into the Canadian city of Barrie, Ontario. It is as deep as 30 m in places, and is connected to the larger Lake Simcoe...

. From there, the fugitives crossed Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...

, to the southern end of Cook's Bay

Cook's Bay

Cook's Bay is the southernmost bay of Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada. It is about 60 kilometres north of Toronto. The bay has some of the best fishing areas in North America, especially for yellow perch. The town of Keswick is the largest area that the bay has access to. Many marinas and motel...

, where they disembarked at Holland Landing in September. They found temporary employment in the Yonge Street settlements but in 1819 many took up land in West Gwillimbury.

In 1823 Presbyterian services were held in a building on this site which was replaced by a frame church in 1827. The present structure was completed in 1869." The Auld Kirk Scotch Settlement was the first and largest settlement in all of Simcoe County. The Sermons at the church were held in Gaelic from the settlers native Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Many of the original settlers of the area were buried in the cemetery within the church property, which still exists to this day. Presbyterian services ended around 1940 when the Church proved to be outdated and too small for services.

The Settlement Today

The Church and graveyard are the last key pieces of evidence of the Auld Kirk Scotch Settlements existence to this day. Many of the farms surrounding the historic site are large. The road it is located on once traveled from one end of West Gwillimbury to the other, but is now nothing more than a gravel road that is cut off at the Kings Highway 400. The historic site rarely will see visitors as it is very isolated. The Church and Graveyard are surrounded by a fence. The Church and its property are kept in preservation and are well maintained. It is impossible to see within the Church as the windows and doors have been shut and locked up. The graveyard contains several tombstones, which date as early to the beginning of the settlement, however, the tombstones can sometimes be misinterpreted as they are very old. The Scotch Settlement is seen as the founding settlement of the West Gwillimbury area and South Simcoe county.