When most of Muskoka and Parry Sound District had already been settled for a generation or more, MacTier and Foots Bay were just emerging unto the world. Relatively young by the standards of the region, they are nonetheless blessed with several buildings of historic relevance. Among them are twin United Churches, one in MacTier and the other in Foot’s Bay, which represent the spiritual centre of these small communities.

Though a joint parish today, the churches began their existence quite separate from each other. The Foot’s Bay United Church enjoys the distinction of being the elder of the two and the one most widely recognized for its historic relevance.

Foot’s Bay, the body of water, is located on the south-western extremity of Lake Joseph and named for Captain Hamilton Foote, a Lake Joseph steamship captain.  A thin arm, Gordon Bay, cuts deeply into the surrounding rock at the southern end of the inlet. It’s an undoubtedly beautiful locale, but isolated from the remainder of Muskoka, the thin soil too sparse for farming, Foot’s Bay was slow in being settled.

A handful of hardy homesteaders had arrived by 1879, but they were too few in number and too preoccupied with simply scratching an existence out of their bush-farms to do much in the way of settlement building. Things only began to change in the 1890s, when the first signs of a distinctive community began to appear.

There were several reasons behind this sudden development, but foremost among them is the fact that the area’s shroud of isolation had been pierced by steamships making regular calls to Lake Joseph, in many cases disgorging sportsmen eager to sample the unspoiled wilderness in the region.

Soon, the trappings of a real community began to appear. Blackstone House, a rustic waterside resort, was opened by local landholder and Justice of the Peace Alfred Winter in 1892. In 1898, Winter would also become the village’s first postmaster, operating out of his hotel.  A store opened around the same time, and Charles Woodroffe started a sawmill. In 1906, the Northern Railway passed along the western side of Lake Joseph and built a small station at Foot’s Bay.

At the same time, John and Hannah McLeod were laying the groundwork for a church. Devote Christians, they were dismayed to find the closest church was in Port Carling, which made it difficult to attend as regularly as they would have liked. So they resolved to remedy the situation.

Hannah began by holding Sunday school for their children and those of their neighbors, while John recruited the services and donations of local men to help build a property house of God. The McLeod’s even donated the land for the church and its adjacent cemetery.

Built in 1897, the humble church was originally of Baptist denomination and lacked the extravagant ornamentation – in the form of stained glass windows, ornate baptismal fonts, and majestic steeples – of many period churches.

Though predominantly catering to Baptists, it also opened its doors to people of other faiths. Methodists, for example, worshipped at Staney Brae on Gospel Point during the summer, but when winter set in and cut off access, the congregation prayed together within the warm confines of the Foot’s Bay church.

In 1956, the United Church (formed in the 1920s by the union of Methodists and Presbyterians) purchased the Foots Bay site from the tiny remaining Baptist congregation and moved their services there full-time.

Many of the older churchgoers watched with heavy hearts as Staney Brae was demolished, but they were excited to have the more accessible Foot’s Bay church entirely as their own. Renovations were made to the church at this time as well, with local craftsmen donating their time and expertise to beautify its interior.

The congregation was blessed by the donation of a steeple bell in 1981. The bell, which had come from Foot’s Bay School and before that, the Staney Brae School, was installed by long-time church supporter Clifford Murphy, on May 17.

“It’s a joy to hear the bell ringing out through the village on these rareSunday morning services,” says Bev Woodroffe, chair of the board of the United Churches at Foot’s Bay and MacTier, who notes that today the church is open for summer services and alternates Christmas Eve services with MacTier.

In 2001, the church received a Heritage Award. Bev, for one, appreciates why.

“A walk through the cemetery is like a walk back in time,” she says fondly. “Many headstones are too old and moss covered to read the inscriptions, but it’s moving nonetheless.”

Although the Foot’s Bay of yesteryear has all-but disappeared, its quaint church serves as a reminder of the community’s past. Within its walls one doesn’t simply hear sermons and services, but rather the echoes of old Foot’s Bay, the pioneer settlement that first brought attention to this oft-overlooked corner of Muskoka.

MacTier started to develop several decades after the first hardy settlers began to take up wilderness lots along the shores of Foot’s Bay. But unlike so many communities in Muskoka, MacTier was not built upon the dreams of land-hungry homesteaders or the aspirations of lumber companies eager to exploit the forests of the region.

Instead, MacTier owes its very existence to the railroads. Without steam trains and their periodic need for servicing and refueling, MacTier wouldn’t exist today. It was the Canadian Pacific Railway, which first brought attention to the region in the early 1900s. CP Rail was famed for its transcontinental line, but it also maintained thousands of miles of secondary tracks that spread out into every corner of the nation.

In 1905, work began on a line to extend due north from Toronto to join the transcontinental line near Sudbury, thereby linking Canada’s largest city with its most important railway. Three years later, in 1908, the line was complete. A divisional point, a place intended to serve both trains and work crews, was established exactly halfway between Toronto and Sudbury. This became known as Muskoka Station.

Muskoka Station was a vital railway facility. Here steam engines were taken off for maintenance at a roundhouse, coal could be secured from extensive warehouse facilities, and a ready supply of water was available from large tanks. Work crews, maintenance staff, and administrative employees were accommodated in boarding houses lining the tracks. Soon, a village began to develop around the bustling railway yards.

Once the village had been established, residents began to turn their focus toward their spiritual needs. The first church in town was Anglican, but a Methodist church followed in due time. This house of worship was extremely modest in size and, at least initially, in the flock it tended. At a time when many buildings in town were unpainted, the church stood out with its crisp whiteness. Perhaps predictably, it became known as “The Little White Church.”

A larger, more modern church was erected in 1925 (the very year the United Church of Canada was formed) to replace this first building. Beautiful oak pews, which remain today, were a gift from a Toronto church. The interior, masterfully constructed, was the work of a local craftsman named MacCayless.

Since MacTier was the center of the pastoral charge (which for a time included Gibson as well as Foot’s Bay and MacTier), a manse was built here to accommodate the local minister. This home remained part of the church holdings until it was sold in 2004, by which point the charge was being ministered to by student and supply ministers.

The congregation was not one to sit on its laurels. Throughout its 80-odd years of existence, members have made constant improvements to the church. In 1947 a cemetery was created, and around that time a communion table was added to serve as a memorial to the six local men who died during the Second World War. Later, a new room called the Fellowship Hall was added to serve as a venue for communal events. In 1988, two stained glass windows were added.

The most extensive renovations were made in 2003, by which point the church was badly in need of repair. The effort wouldn’t have been possible if not for a $40,000 grant from Ontario’s Trillium Foundation.

Owing to shrinking congregations, the MacTier and Foot’s Bay United Churches amalgamated in 1995. Even so, maintaining the churches in the face of rising costs and a decreasing flock of the faithful is an ongoing struggle.

“We function today due to the efforts of Girl Guides, fundraising dinners, and rental fees for the Fellowship Hall,” says Bev. “We have some truly dedicated members – Doris Maddison drives from Parry Sound each Sunday to play the organ, and Bill Demkiw has been a great support in keeping the church in working order – but without financial support our church is in danger of closing in the near future.”

This past summer, on August 3, the MacTier church held a special anniversary service as part of the community’s centennial celebrations.

Similarly, the Foot’s Bay church hosted a special memorial service on August 17. Both were extremely well attended, including people from as far away as Toronto, indicating clear evidence that both historic churches remain relevant and beloved, even in today’s modern society.

One hopes that both churches are around to celebrate again, another 100 years from now. As tangible links to the past, they remain central to their respective communities’ identity. Perhaps more importantly, they are physical memorials to the faith to which early settlers held as they attempted to tame this wild and rugged wilderness.