Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Both the Methodist and Baptist influences were very strong in Potton in the earliest times, as witnessed by the history of Meig's Corner, and the various accounts of a preaching presence in the frontier that Potton was.  Potton was “ part of the Dunham circuit, and for many years received their services through the efforts of a “circuit rider” or “Saddlebag Preacher” as these itinerant preachers were sometimes called »^[1].  

Each community of faith eventually built churches of their own.  On July 10, 1878, Francis Peabody was one of the seven Trustees who, on behalf of the Methodist Society of Mansonville, “purchased from Frederick Nick, a tinsmith of Mansonville, a piece of land, for the sum of $400.00 for the purpose of building a Church and dwelling house”^[2].  Of incidental interest is the following found in the Belden Historical Atlas of 1881: “ Nick, Frederick, hardware merchant in Mansonville.  Was born in Germany, 1847.  Settled here in 1870. »

The United Church building in Mansonville, now privately owned, was built in 1879 by the Methodists and reconstructed in 1894 following a disastrous fire in 1893.  “ The Montreal Witness report of March 7, 1893 (…) read(s): The fire which broke out here on Friday last, destroying the Methodist Church with all its belongings, save the Bible and organ, and the 'Old Academy', a building adjacent (…). »^[3]  (A new academy was built on the site of the 'Old', was later demolished, and is now the site of the War Memorial in Mansonville.  Plate # 32, Potton d'antan, Yesterdays of Potton)

The name “ United Church » refers to the merging in 1925 of the Methodist, Congregationalist and one section of the Presbyterian Churches into the United Church of Canada.

An architect by the name of Storey, designed the Mansonville United Church.  It featured a sloped floor leading to the sanctuary, giving unique amphitheatre design.  Because of the wood sheathed interior and high cathedral ceiling, the acoustics of the United Church are remarkable.  The steeple, featuring decorative shaped shingles, encloses the bell and forms the main entrance to the building.  A simple rose window graces the high facade.  The building immediately to the left of the church was once the United Church 'manse', or the dwelling provided to the ministers called to serve the United Church congregation in Mansonville.  It was sold to private owners several years ago.

An aging congregation, declining population, shifting demographics and the financial burden of keeping such a large building insured and maintained, forced closure of the United Church in Mansonville in 2010 and its eventual sale.  The building, which had seen, and been, so much a part of the history of this community, then passed into private hands and closed to public use.  It will continue its history in another context.  The venerable building remains an icon of the era of Methodism, that defined much of the heritage in the Township of Potton.  Some of the ladies of the former Mansonville United Church Women still meet periodically for fellowship, as part of the Knowlton United Church congregation of the Mountain Valley Pastoral Charge.