The Auld Kirk An Historic Site Turning south off Highway 88, at the Middleton sideroad, then west on concession 6, the tourist finds the site of Simcoe county's first church and the adjoining churchyard, which is the last resting place of those early pioneers, known as the Selkirk Settlers. A tablet at the front of the church gives a concise history. It reads as follows: Auld Kirk "In 1815 some Highland Scots from Lord Selkirk's Red River Settlement, disheartened by crop failure and the opposition of the North-West Company, moved to Upper Canada. Transported int he North-Western canoes they disembarked at Holland Landing in September. They found temporary employment in the Yonge Steet settlements, but in 1819 many took up land in West Gwillimbury. In 1823 Presbyterian services were held in a temporary log building on the site of Auld Kirk. It was replaced in 1827. The present brick structure was completed in 1869." To that story might be added that in 1844 the congregation divided, a large portion going to the Free Church, now the Scotch Settlement, Presbyterian Church on the 5th line, and by 1871 regular services ended in Auld Kirk. The old church lapsed into disrepair and it was not until 1855 that action began to effect its restoration, and today, in an excellent state of repair, it stands as an historic site and tribute to those brave pioneers.
