Knox Presbyterian Church, Oakville is a Presbyterian Church in Canada congregation, and located at 89 Dunn Street at Lakeshore Road (Highway 2) in downtown Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
Overview
The church was created in 1833 by Americans and Scottish Presbyterians. After the 1837 Rebellion the influence of the American church faded and was replaced by the rise of the Scotch Kirk (Free Church of Scotland) and the Church of Scotland took over until 1844. James Nisbet became the first settled minister and remained until 1862, when he was appointed as a missionary, first to the Red River Colony, and later to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. From 1844 to 1883, it was linked with Knox Church "Sixteen", Oakville residents voted the town dry in 1881 and by 1887 the owner was willing to sell it to the Presbyterians for $1,600. The old hotel was cut into three sections and moved off the site - one section is still downtown today at 152 Lakeshore Road. A church bell was installed several years later - the exact date is in dispute - cast in New York State. By 1894, a "pedal organ" had been approved, to the consternation of the more conservative members of the church who regarded it as "the devil's instrument."
By 1919, the church was ready to expand again, and the sanctuary was renovated to assume the form that exists today. The old organ was replaced with a new $6,625 three-manual Casavant Organ, the chancel was extended through the arch and the stained glass window of the Last Supper was installed in memory of the men in the congregation who died in the Great War, including the son of the minister. The window was donated by Cecil Marlatt, owner of a great family tannery, who died 8 years later bankrupt. These renovations, which cost $20,300, also saw the addition of what is now R.G. MacMillan Hall. The 1925 Union crisis and the creation of the United Church of Canada, along with the Great Depression, brought about a period of hard times for the church and it wasn't until 1949 that the congregation could hold a mortgage-burning ceremony.
In 1955 the boom following the arrival of the Ford Motor Company was being felt and the church expanded again.