Locke Street History Bytes — Issue 2
by Bill Manson
Coauthor of Up and Down Locke Street South.
THE SAGA OF THE HERKIMER STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
Today no trace remains of the Herkimer Street Baptist Church, once
a thriving place of worship on Locke South, a street of many historic
churches.
How did a Herkimer Street church end up on Locke Street? The story
is an intriguing one.
The growth of the Baptist movement in Hamilton is closely linked
to the development of Locke Street South. In January of 1844 the
first public baptism in Hamilton took place in the portion of Beasley’s
Hollow that terminated the south end of "Lock" Street,
as it was then known. After chopping a hole in the ice-covered stream,
four members of the Park Street Baptist Congregation, Mrs. P.W.
Dayfoot, and Messrs. Wm.Taylor, Jos. Curtis and Daniel New, were
anointed in the waters that ran along Bold Street through Locke.
It must have been an inspiring, if not chilling, experience.
As the city grew to encompass the Locke Street neighbourhood, a
Baptist Sunday School was opened here in 1875 . It was housed in
a rented room at the corner of what is now Chatham and Dundurn Streets
(then Robinson and Garth Streets). However in 1979 the owner of
the house withdrew the rental, and the Sunday School was closed.
In 1884 a wood-frame Mission and Sunday School was erected on the
north side of Herkimer, a few doors west of Locke. Built by W.H.
Midgley and operated as part of the James Street Baptist Church,
so popular was this institution in the growing neighbourhood that
the building was ordained the Herkimer Street Baptist Church in
1889.
In 1894, the congregation purchased a larger lot on the southwest
corner of Robinson (Melbourne) and Locke streets with a view to
erecting a new church on the site. However, discussion eventually
turned to "removing" the Herkimer Street edifice to this
new location. During the night of April 28 1897, a team of mules
and men lifted the building from its base and moved it physically
down Locke to the new location.
On May 2 services were held in the church which still sat on timbers.
By the end of June, the church had been lowered onto a stone basement.
The refurbishment included an extension of the old structure to
house 300 worshipers, a brick facade, cathedral glass windows, and
carpeting. The cost of the move and renovations was a staggering
$2,200!!
And that is how the Herkimer Street Baptist Church ended up on
Locke Street.
However this is not the end of the story. By 1907 the congregation
decided that a larger building was in order, and purchased property
on the southwest corner of Stanley and Locke. On December 17, 1909,
a cornerstone for a new church was laid. Because of its location,
and to avoid even more confusion, the church was rededicated the
Stanley Avenue Baptist Church.
The old Herkimer Street building remained at Locke and Melbourne
until it was razed in the 1950’s. It spent its declining years
first as the Sunlight Laundry, and later as an empty shell.
Thus is the saga of the Herkimer Street Baptist Church.
If you have any interesting stories about Locke South's history,
I would be happy to feature them in future columns. You can reach
me at upanddown@lockestreet.com
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