50 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2018 On Sunday October 21st, Scugog Island United Church will be holding a special service to commemorate the celebration of over 150 years of Ministry on Scugog Island. There have been six churches on Scugog Island, but the present Scugog Island United Church is the only remaining fully operational church and is the last of four Methodist churches on the Island. It was originally referred to as the Centre Church. The first formal worship services on Scugog Island were held in 1846 by the Wesleyan Methodists in various loca- tions. They were primarily held to serve the Mississauga’s of Scugog First Nation, but increasingly included the European settlers. At the south end of the Island, the “Head Church” was built in 1860. It still stands and is now a part of the Scugog Shores Museum. At the north end of the Island, referred to as the “Foot” of the Island, the Mississaugas of Scugog First Nation had a Methodist Church on their property. Close by was the “Foot Church” itself. The Mississaugas church building was originally lo- cated at Port Hoover in Mariposa Township, but when the railroad from Port Perry to Lindsay was opened, followed by the cessation of steamship traffic, the hamlet of Port Hoover lost its relevance and was closed. Even the Port Hoover cemetery was moved. The graves were exhumed and re-interred in the Pleasant Point Cemetery . When the ice was safe during the winter of 1869, the formerPortHooverMethodistEpiscopalChurchbuilding was taken across the lake to the Island and re-established as the Mississauga’s Mission Church. The Mission Church was dedicated with a great cel- ebration in the spring of 1869. In the centre of the Island, the original Centre Church was lit with coal oil lamps and heated in the winter with hardwood in a large box stove. Outside, a long wooden platform was constructed so that women could disem- bark from a horse and buggy with dignity. A parsonage was added in 1895. The wooden framed “Centre Church” was destroyed by fire in June, 1941. While plans were underway for a new church, services were held across the road in the Island hall. When plans were finalized for the new Centre Church, a decision was made to close the Mississauga’s Church and the Foot Church. As they were being torn down, many of the materials were salvaged for use in the Centre Church, symbolizing the joining of three congregations. Other interior furnishings came from many locations. The choir chairs, for instance were brought from the beverage room of the Genosha Hotel in Oshawa. The cornerstone for the new church, the present red- brick building, was laid in 1943 by Reverend Fred Joplin. The new Centre Church was dedicated as the Grace Church on October 19, 1947 by Reverend Mencel Irvine who had formerly lived just across the road. In 1956 the congregation from the Head Church amal- Celebratin� over Celebratin� over Years Years Scugog Island United Church United Church will be holding a special service