Why is the Conference so called?

By : Anne Stairs.

Ever wondered about the street names and architecture in this Knowlton residential area? Well, it started off as an Anglican Church conference ground.

In 1902, the Brome County Sunday School Association opened a camp “for pleasure and spiritual profit” in Knowlton. The old Home Children orphanage, which housed British children sent to Canada for adoption in the late 1800s and early 1900s, was the original meeting site, with campers tenting in the surrounding fields.

By 1905, the group had acquired 20 acres of a “fine maple grove” in the current location and had built their own conference buildings by 1906. This explains the use of the street names Conference and Grove. Capel Road, also in that area, references the Vice President and eventual camp Superintendent, Rev. Edgar T. Capel.

A Camp for More Than 1,000

Over the years, many types of church-affiliated groups, including the YWCA, Sunday School workers, Canadian Girls in Training, youth, and young adults, made use of the facilities.

By 1914, the association was campaigning for 1,000 campers for the summer months, and sizeable buildings like Foster Cottage, Taylor Hall, and Theakston House had been erected.

Around this time, lots were also sold off to families wanting to build their own cottages, hence the cottage-type housing typical of the area.

Architecture That Reflects the Past

If you look closely at the current houses, you can see an abundance of shingles, wrap-around porches, camp-style dormer windows, and rooflines reminiscent of the church campground era.

It’s amazing to think that 100 years ago there was an interdenominational church campground operating in Knowlton with 1,000+ members.

Although, in the 1930s, the camp was eventually disbanded and the Knowlton Grove Hotel was opened, using some of the original buildings from the conference grounds.

Who knew?

Tempo thanks the BCHS Archives for their collaboration on this article and photographic material.