Bethesda – Ghost Towns Of The GTA - Teds Woodworking Review

May 24, 2025

Whitchurch Township was established in 1792 and European settlers began to arrive in 1794. The area that became known as Bethesda was first settled by Mennonites from Pennsylvania when Christian Steckley arrived in 1795. Christian took up lot 6 in concession 5 and several of his relatives took adjoining lots. Their names still cover that section on the 1877 county atlas seen below. Also circled in green are the school, general store with post office, Primitive Methodist Church and the home of Joseph Shaffer (misspelt as Sheffer on the map).

Our cover photo comes from the Whitchurch Township History Book Committee and shows the church and general store as well as the blacksmith shop of William Hunt. The town was at its peak around 1875 and most of the early buildings still remain. The image below shows the church and general store as they appear in 2025.

As early as 1855 a Primitive Methodist Church was built in Bethesda by a local carpenter named John Atkinson. A Sunday school started operations in 1858 and by 1871 the church was in need of updating as the community had grown around it. This included the front porch that used to grace the front of the building.

The church was given a brick veneer and continued to serve the community until it was closed in 1969. The front porch was removed and the building was deconsecrated as a church. It now serves as a private residence. The outline of the front porch can still be seen in the bricks on the front of the building.

The first store in town had been on the south west corner of the intersection. This was replaced in 1874 with a new store on the town lot beside the church. The store also included the post office which opened that year. The post office was closed in 1924 when rural delivery was introduced. The store has since been closed and now is used as a private residence.

Bethesda was home to Whitchurch-Stouffville School Section 12. The original frame structure was built on lot 6 on the north east corner of the intersection. In 1872 a new brick school house was erected on lot 7, just to the north. This school was destroyed by fire in 1892. Isaac Pike was the teacher for 43 years beginning in 1874 and when the school building was lost, he taught class in his barn until the new building was ready to be occupied.

The school was closed in 1965 and consecrated as the Bethesda Emanuel Church which it served as until 1992. It is now in use as a Greek Orthodox Church. The black cat on the front steps of the church was quite welcoming as we stopped for this picture. However, the parsonage shares the driveway with the church and the gentleman in the house was much less happy to see us.

The Joseph Shaffer house has stood on the south east corner since 1884. The county atlas above shows the earlier house located on what is now Shaffer Lane. The original drive sheds still stand on this laneway.

There are still a few of the original homes from the Victorian community. This one on Bethesda Sideroad is typical of the small homes built in Ontario in the 1860s and 1870s. This is known as Ontario vernacular, these are a story and a half and typically have a four room layout on the ground floor with a central hallway. Bedrooms are located on the second floor.