Church Hall in Bloomfield Pratt Call. 
     
    
   
   
    
     7. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HALL IN BLOOMFIELD 
     
     By Allan Shaw 
     
    
   
   
    
     Before 1890 the people who lived in the Bloomfield area realized the need for 
     
     some kind of a meeting hall for prayer meetings, church socials and a Sunday 
     
     school. These were mostly Presbyterians who attended the Presbyterian Church in 
     
     Campbellton. Due to inclement weather as well as poor travelling conditions, many 
     
     times they had difficulty even getting as far as Campbellton. It was also especially 
     
     difficult for the smaller children to attend Sunday School in the Campbellton 
     
     Church. After much discussion, it was agreed that a Church Hall in Bloomfield was 
     
     the answer to their problem. 
     
    
   
   
    
     In the 1880’s, the Church Hall, commonly known as the “Little Hall” to 
     
     distinguish it from the Community Hall, was built in Bloomfield on the O’Halloran 
     
     Road (Bloomfield Road) on the corner of the Robert Nelson Shaw farm and a short 
     
     distance from the farm itselftowards the Bloomfield Station. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The lumber for the construction was entirely donated with the major con- 
     
     tributors being Ernest Adams and Robert Nelson Shaw. Apparently, the lumber was 
     
     cut when a major snow storm occurred with the result that the timber had to be 
     
     carried out on the shoulders of the workers. One of these workers, Robert Nelson 
     
     Shaw, was a heavy man, and he told afterward that he constantly punched through 
     
     the crust while his lighter assistant walked on top. The building was used for in- 
     
     terdenominational purposes, open to speakers of most faiths, and a Sunday School 
     
     meeting place for the area children who were predominately Presbyterian. It was 
     
     definitely part of the Campbellton Presbyterian Church and had been erected only 
     
     as a more convenient place to gather for religious purposes. 
     
    
   
   
    
     There were several travelling evangelists who conducted religious services in this 
     
     hall. Locally, these ministers were known as “Go Preachers” who sometimes stayed 
     
     for two weeks. Rev. J.A. Brace, Rev. Law and Rev. Moore were among those who 
     
     visited in Bloomfield Station and preached in the Hall. 
     
    
   
   
    
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