Dear Editor, 

As a researcher of the Sparling family and the historic Irish Palatine settlements of Thorne Township, I am writing to engage the collective memory of your readers regarding a lost piece of our local heritage: the Craig Methodist Church in Greermount.

Our family’s journey is rooted in the Craig Society (also known as the Killeheen Society) of County Limerick, Ireland. When the Sparlings, Craigs, and Corneilles settled the “Methodist Block” near Sparling’s Lake in the mid-1800s, they brought this “class meeting” tradition with them. By 1895, they had built a church on Range 4 (chemin Craig) to anchor their community.

While the Craig Methodist Cemetery remains a beautifully preserved landmark, the church building itself is gone. I am looking for any readers who might have:

– Photographs of the church building (exterior or interior) from family albums.

– Stories or programs from old church socials, Orange Lodge gatherings, or “class meetings” held in Greermount.

– Knowledge of where any artifacts from the church (the bell, pews, or pulpit) might have gone when the building was decommissioned.

The legacy of pioneers like John Sparling (1825–1902) is woven into the very soil of Thorne. I hope to preserve a visual record of their place of worship for the Pontiac Archives and future generations.

If any readers have photos to share or stories to tell, please contact me at stsparling@sympatico.ca

Steve Sparling, Cobourg, Ont.