Friends of St. Alban's Adolphustown

We began as a small community group concerned for St.Alban's after the church closed in November 2018. In January 2020, Friends of St. Alban's Adolphustown was incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation ad became a registered charity. In December 2020 we launched our first Strategic Plan, which was significantly curtailed in 2020 & 2021 due to the pandemic.

In 2022 we expanded our activities to include: Guided & Self-guided Tours of historic St. Alban's Memorial Church; Hallowed Grounds Café (a seasonal outdoor cafe); a unique Escape Room experience; a Bookstore, Music Room & Gallery in the Rectory. We also now hold a variety of different Music, Theatre and Community Events.

This Updated Strategic Plan will guide our growth and development in the future.

We have two Purposes:

1. To preserve St. Alban's Heritage Building, and commemorate, celebrate and educate the public about its unique heritage.
2. To transform St. Alban's into a vibrant community hub, ST. ALBAN'S CENTRE.

Our Mission will be accomplished through the following Strategic Initiatives:

• Finalising arrangements for a long term lease or purchase of St. Alban's.
• Engaging community members to participate in our Activities & Events, and to support our organisation through volunteering, recruiting and further developing a communications strategy through social media and other communication channels.
• Developing and expanding our Activities.
• Hosting 10-12 Events each year, appealing to a broad range of community interests.
• Promoting St. Alban's Centre as a Community Facility and Event Venue.
• Funding annual operations including a maintenance reserve, through Activities, Events, Lifetime Memberships, Facility Rental, Annual Donation Commitments and Grants.
• Enhancing the St. Alban's visitor experience by continually presenting a variety of different feature exhibits.
• Developing a joint working relationship with other local organisations to co-ordinate and promote Activities and Events and to share resources (ie: Quinte Branch of the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, Old Hay Bay Church, the Adolphustown-Fredericksburgh Heritage Society, Lennox & Addington Museum, the Loyalist Parkway Association and local businesses).
• Preparing a 10 Year property development plan including restoration, major repairs and enhancements such as washrooms and food preparation area.

Adolphustown was established in 1784 with the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists in June of that year. They overcame early hardships and went on to build a thriving village boasting a district courthouse, a tavern, St. Paul's Church, a school, and later, hotels, blacksmiths, stores, a tailor, a dressmaker, a barber, and a post office.

The 1800s brought a new town hall and a new church: St. Alban's replaced the old St. Paul's; which then became the parish hall. In the 1900s, the Church and both halls were the centre of village life, hosting community suppers, dances, euchre parties and political gatherings. Today, only St. Alban's Church, the Town Hall, Allison House (now a museum and research centre in the UEL Park), and several smaller houses remain.

Visitors to St. Alban's Centre are treated to rare and beautiful 19th century memorial tiles, elaborate stained-glass windows, replicas of the Queen's Rangers Colours (carried in the American Revolutionary War), and even a small bronze bell manufactured in England in 1690, perhaps the first bell used in Upper Canada.

This diminutive stone Gothic Revival Church, built with the vision and passion of Reverend R.S. Forneri, served Anglican congregations for 128 years from 1890 to 2018. As well, it has been an important community gathering place for weddings, funerals, music, strawberry socials, plant and yard sales, bake sales, and the annual UEL Memorial Service and Loyalist Tea.

St. Alban's Centre is located near several other significant heritage sites - all worthy of celebration, and together telling a many faceted story of our rich local heritage:

• Adolphustown Town Hall, originally a courthouse, was built in 1796, and served both as administrative centre for the township and as a site for the District Court of Quarter Sessions. A new Town Hall was built on the foundations of the old courthouse in 1864. The Town Hall continued as a centre for municipal governance and community events for more than 200 years until municipal amalgamation in 1998. Having received municipal heritage designation from the Town of Greater Napanee in 2015, the hall is currently owned by the Bay of Quinte Branch of the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada and is still used occasionally for community purposes.
• United Empire Loyalist Park, also owned and operated by the Bay of Quinte Branch of the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada, is the site of the June 16th 1784 landing of the first noted United Empire Loyalists. This 72 acre park includes the Loyalist Cemetery, established in 1784, and the oldest monument to the Loyalists in Canada, erected in 1884.
• Allison House, a Victorian mansion built in 1876 by D.W. Allison on the Adolphus Reach, is now owned and administered by the Bay of Quinte Branch of the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada. The house, situated within the UEL Park, has been protected since 2003 as a heritage site, under a conservation easement by the Ontario Heritage Trust, and is now in use seasonally as a museum and heritage resource centre. 
• Old Hay Bay Church, erected in 1792 along the south shore of Hay Bay by early settlers, including United Empire Loyalists, is the oldest surviving Methodist building in Canada. It was designated an Ontario Historic Site in 1957, re-designated an American Methodist Church in 1992, and a National Historic Site of Canada in 2001.

Become a Friend of St. Alban's Adolphustown (FOSAA), and a Lifetime Member by clicking on the Green Button below.