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ST. PAUL’S PRESBYTERIAN

In 1867, gold and silver were found in the area and Salisbury (as the town of Nelson was then called) grew quickly as a result of the frantic mining activity. Our Church history begins in the year 1888, when John A. McDonald, a Presbyterian student minister from Queens College, Kingston, Ontario, having traveled by boat, pony, and on foot, preached the Gospel to some twenty people in a tent. Although his visit only lasted a couple days, he paved the way for Rev. Thomas Rogers who, in 1891, held services in the sitting-room of the International Hotel and then in rooms on the 2nd floor of the R.E. Lemon General Store.

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The “First Presbyterian Church”, on the corner of Victoria and Kootenay Streets was dedicated in June 1892, and in 1897 was renamed “St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church”. The Congregational Church constructed a building on the corner of Silica and Stanley Streets in 1898 and this was known as “St. Paul’s Church.” (The building, after going through a number of incarnations, is now the Evangelical Covenant Church.)

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In 1912, the Presbyterian Church purchased this building and the original “First Presbyterian Church” was sold to the First Church of Christ, Scientists, in November 1912. Following Church Union in 1925 a small number from the Presbyterian congregation, however, chose to re-purchase the original Presbyterian building, and re-named it “First Presbyterian Church.” This historic building continued to serve as Trinity Presbyterian Church until 2010. Today the building has been sold to a private enterprise.

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