In the centre of suburbia near the banks of the Credit River, a piece of the country is quietly wrapped in yesteryear for your tranquil experience.
The residential home at 7777 Churchville Road was constructed c. 1837 and sits 200 paces from the historic picturesque bridge. With the feel of pioneer authenticity blended with a modern touch, the living room is an informal café setting with video, surround sound and wireless Internet for small informal meetings and ministry tasks.
There is historical evidence that this very room was likely used in the summer of 1837 as a meeting place of some famous people including William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of what is now Toronto and Joseph Smith Jr. the founder of the Mormon Church.*
From Steeles Avenue just east of the Credit River, take Churchville Road South from Steeles to 7777 Churchville Road.
Take Mississauga Road north to Hallstone just north of the 407. Go right (east) on Hallstone to the very end of the road. Turn left over the bridge, then left on Churchville Road and go north a few houses to 777 Churchville Road.
Please watch for the "No Parking" signs north of the house. (The firehall just south of the house is quite active and needs unhindered access to the hill.)
The Village of Churchville, was founded in 1815 by Amaziah Church, a United Empire Loyalist. The village grew around his mill on the Credit River and for many years Churchville was a prosperous community. Like many 19th century villages, however, the arrival of electricity and later the automobile changed how and where people lived and worked. A Heritage Conservation District designation helps preserve the unique architectural character of Churchville. Other former villages and hamlets live on only as street and school names.
* A published letter in 1847 said of Churchville, "This village is beautifully situated on the Credit. It contains a Post Office, two Grist Mills, owned by Duggan & Ingram; three Stores, two Taverns, one Tannery, and about 250 inhabitants. It is a very large manufacturing place, and turns out some of the best work of any place in the Province."
Churchville had a large proportion of the early converts to Mormonism in Canada -- second only to the city of Kingston. At or about the time of this letter many of the Mormons who by then numbered about 2,500 in Canada migrated to the West to build "Zion" as Joseph Smith Jr. had prescribed. There was much conflict, controversy and violence in the Mormon early days and Smith himself was shot by a mob in 1844 while awaiting a trial in jail in Illinois. The census showed fewer than 80 Mormons left in Canada by the time of confederation. This migration had a serious impact on the economy and population of the village.
During those early days of Mormonism one of the supporters of the movement was William Lyon Mackenzie. Across the road from 7777 at the long since demolished building on the site of Amaziah Church's original mill, Mackenzie held meetings with the farmers of the township to plan his short lived rebellion of 1837. It is conjecture, but probable, based on the historic information gleaned from a Mormon source that meetings were held by Smith in the "house beside the tavern." There is only one known house beside one of the three (not two as cited above) taverns in the village. That house is 7777. Since this was the major centre of the Mormon movement in the Toronto area, it is likely Mackenzie attended.
Today the village has 98 homes that have been built through the years but fewer than a dozen remain with the age and significance of 7777.
