HISTORY

In July, 1977, St. Joachim’s Parish, Vernon River will celebrate the

‘ one hundredth anniversary of the building of the present church. To

appreciate fully the significance of this centennial, one must look to the

past to see what has been accomplished. The history of the parish through

the years from the construction of the first log church in Waterside in

1804 until the completion“ of the present-day majestic complex of struc- tures is a rich one indeed.

The original settlers of Vernon River were of different nationalities. The Irish families of the area came principally from County Monaghan, ‘ and, prior to their taking up land in Vernon River, had located in Fort ‘ Augustus. Later, they were joined by immigrants from the southern counties of Ireland. The Scottish portion of the parishioners came to Vernon River from Lots 35 and 36, the lands owned by Captain John MacDonald the former Laird of Glenaladale, Scotland, who had brought over 200 immigrants to his vast holdings. Many of these, dissatisfied with the feudal system of land tenure which he championed, moved to Vernon River where slightly more liberal conditions prevailed. Some of the first settlers were: John Hayley, Martin Keoughan, Edward Morrissey, Roderick McNeil, Donald MacMillan, Alexander MacDonald (Doctor), Angus Mac- Donald, Hugh Fraser, Roderick MacIsaac, John McInnis, John MacDonald, Ronald MacDonald, Alexander McGillivary and Henry Wright. These heroic pioneers were the veritable founders of the parish.

The first settlers in what is now the parish of Vernon River lived along the north shore of Pownal Bay, then called Squaw Bay, in Lot 49. In 1804, a log church was erected in the area. The land for the church and adjoining cemetery was purchased for four pounds by the Reverend Angus Bernard MacEachern from John Hayley and John MacDonald. This venerable missionary priest and Bishop then made the land available to the parisioners for the nominal sum of five shillings. Although the log church is no longer extant, twenty-two tombstones are still visible in the cemetery; the most prominent of them, dated 1810, is that of John Hayley one of the men from whom the land was purchased. In this picturesque, quiet, secluded area in Waterside one can capture in the mind’s eye the beginnings of Catholicism in the Vernon River area.

As the parish grew rapidly, the little log church at Waterside soon proved inadequate for the spiritual needs of the parishioners. Thus, in September, 1813, Joseph 0. Plessis, the Bishop of Quebec who had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Prince Edward Island, authorized Father MacEachern to choose another site that would be larger and more cen- trally located. Father MacEachern selected a beautiful six-acre stretch of land on the upper waters of Vernon River south of the present Char-

5