(below) Former location of Zion Evangelical Church, on the southwest corner of the modern intersection of Blackbush Line and Sararas Road. This church closed in 1926 and was demolished shortly thereafter. Zoom in to determine the exact location.
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“The Evangelical Association, a German-language faith which is similar to the Methodist denomination, flourished in Canada from 1836 to 1968, when its congregations joined the United Church of Canada. By 1850, Upper Canada was included in the New York Conference of the Evangelical Church. Rev. Jacob Bastian, Presiding Elder, served the German settlers around Berlin [Kitchener] and settlements as far west as Hay and Stephen Townships, known as the Huron Mission. He travelled from Sebringville on horseback. Rev. Bastian preached to Christian Oswald and his wife, and to F. Truemner and his wife, in Oswald’s home in 1850. From 1852-1854, Rev. Frederick Scharffe held a small communion service and preached several times on the Goshen Line in Jacob Weber’s carpenter shop. Rev. Solomon Weber preached in the schoolhouse on the Bronson Line in 1854-1855 and in the Oswald home and other homes, gathering 33 souls.
The first Evangelical log church, built on the Bronson Line, was dedicated by Rev. John Staebler in 1857. A parsonage was built the following year. Revivals and two camp meetings were held in Jacob Kaercher’s bush, on Con. 14, making this the second Evangelical congregation in the township. The name Huron Mission was changed to the Lake Circuit, with ten appointments, in 1857. Four of those were in Hay: Bronson Line, Goshen Line, Sauble Line [Highway 21] and the Lake School House (S.S. # 5 [Hay]). These were known as the Hay District.
(right) North is up on this map. This image displays the block in present day bounded on the north by Zurich Road, to the east by the Bronson Line, with Blackbush Line on the west and Sararas Road to the south. Perhaps due to a plotting error in the original historical atlas; despite the text below stipulating that the church wasn’t built until 1888 on this site, this 1879 map shows Zion Evangelical already in place on the Kaercher property on the southwest corner of Blackbush Line and Sararas Road (Lot 15, Con. 15) in the latter year (bottom left of map). The symbol designating a school north of Zion Evangelical, on Blackbush Line, is S.S. #12 Hay Township. The corresponding school on the Bronson Line to the east (right) is S.S. #4 Hay Township, built in 1865 on part of Lot 18. An earlier school had been previously constructed one Lot south of that location on Bronson Line (Lot 17) before 1854. That is the building that is mentioned in the text as having been utilized by Evangelical Association ‘travelling clergy’ in early days for small gatherings. Take note of the Christian Oswald property, north of the school on Bronson Line; which served as a gathering place for the earliest Evangelical Association religious services in the vicinity around 1850.
The next church was built on Lot 16, Con. 15, [Hay] but it was replaced by a brick structure on Lot 15, Con. 15 in 1888. Land was purchased on June 23, 1888 from Jacob and Mary Kaercher by Andrew Smith, Henry Fleischauer and Henry Pfeil [sic], trustees of the Dashwood Society of the Evangelical Association. The last service at this church was held on May 2, 1926 with 200 worshippers attending. This church was demolished after it closed and materials used to build the 15-foot extension to the south and a tower to house the bell on Emmanuel Church in Zurich.”
extracted from “Hay Township Highlights: 150 years of Diversified Progress, 1846 – 1996”, published by the Hay Township Book Committee under the auspices of Hay Township Council, Alice Gibb ed.; pgs. 164-165 ISBN : 0-919939-43-0