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St. Joseph's in Binbrook was erected in the existing cemetery two miles east of the village in 1844 by Irish settlers. The land was given by Hugh Duffy whose descendants are still neighbours and the first Mass and Dedication was celebrated by Bishop DeCharbounell of Toronto. This Church, serving the small Catholic population from Smithville west to Caledonia, was considered the oldest Catholic Church in the County of Wentworth and possibly in the Diocese of Hamilton. The small frame building held only eighty people and was heated by a cast iron stove; it had no electricity until 1960. Painting bees kept the building gleaming and seasonal decorations were always in place. Many interesting anecdotes can be recalled. One of the more amusing is of Father Flaherty, a large genial man, who, when appointed in 1962, made it necessary to reinforce the centre aisle. It served well the thirty Catholic families.
Interior, St. Joseph's Church, Binbrook
Priests for this mission came over the years from a number of Churches. Until 1856, this was part of Toronto Archdiocese. After the formation of the Hamilton Diocese in 1856, St. Mary's Hamilton, served the needs of St. Joseph's. For a short period in 1857, a priest came in from Smithville to celebrate Mass. In 1877, St. Patrick's Hamilton, and in 1922, Sacred Heart, Hamilton, sent priests. In 1951, it became part of the new Parish centered at Elfrida. Since this was a time of population growth, the little Church saw larger crowds. In March of 1964, a violent wind storm ripped off half the roof depositing it over the rows of gravestones. Since it was really too small and would have been expensive to repair, it was felt by the parishioners that now was the time to centralize the Parish buildings at Elfrida.
In June of 1946, after doing a census of the Catholic families in the new St. Francis Xavier Parish in Fruitland, Father Patrick Bodendistel reported to Bishop Ryan that there were twenty-five families living above the mountain in widely scattered areas of Saltfleet. A decision to build a Chapel on Mud Street, one half mile east of Tapleytown, was made. This would serve an expected developing population in the area between #20 Highway and Lincoln Line and #20 Highway on the south and the mountain brow. The opening of this small mission, using parts of a World War II wooden barracks, was held on Sunday, December 18, 1949.
Second Rectory - Open 1953
On the 5th of July 1951, Bishop Joseph F. Ryan officially established the new Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption. On June 4, 1951 Reverend John Van Buren, S.C.J., the Superior of the Sacred Heart Fathers, a recently established Dutch Order, located in Delaware, Ontario (London Diocese), accepted the invitation to staff this rural Parish.
Father James De Jonge, SCJ, was named the founding Pastor. Father De Jonge offered his first Mass on July 7, 1951. He lived first at Caledonia's rectory with Father Bodendistel, then with the Corrigans, whose large white frame farmhouse sat east of the present church buildings. In 1952, a cottage belonging to Father Joseph McCowell, at Holy Family Camp in Winona, was moved to Elfrida and renovated. Several months later, and before the Pastor could move in, the rectory was destroyed by fire. A new brick rectory was opened on September 26, 1953. Occasionally mass was celebrated in the basement of this house and social affairs were also enjoyed there by the small parish family.
The Tapleytown Chapel was moved to Elfrida, set on a new foundation and renovated. It was blessed in a private ceremony in January 1956 by the then Chancellor of the Diocese Father Paul F. Reding. A number of parishioners laid the foundations for this white frame church and considerable alterations were made over the next ten years to beautify and make the Church more convenient. The rough benches were replaced with pews bought from a Church in Burlington, which had been closed, a new "used" organ was purchased, a kitchen was put into the basement and hardwood floors were laid. The Parish was growing and a number of social events, dances, suppers, etc. began to generate some funds. For six years an "Apple Festival" bazaar was held in the old Parish Hall at St. Ann's, Hamilton, and this assisted greatly. This was thanks to the kindness of the pastor, Msgr. Charles McColgan. Father Hill celebrated mass every day in Lent in St. Patrick's Church in Hamilton and brought the collection back to the Parish. Gradually the influx of new parishioners greatly aided the financial scene.
New Church 1969
With this new population growth came the need to consider the very evident inadequacies of the Church. A building committee composed of Father Kevin Sheridan, Carl Besseling, Don Burden, Tom Flanagan, Albert Gris, John Nugent, Jack Hadfield, John Minchin and Ted Wichers was organized to study the situation and future expectations. This study resulted in the appointment of Michael Torsney in 1968 as the architect for the new Church. Foremost among their considerations was the need to build a Community Church that was not only visually pleasing, reasonable in price, but conducive to the closeness needed for the new Liturgy now making its appearance after the changes of Vatican II. The complete Church cost was $226,460.00 for the 70' x 70' building which seats 460. The building contract was awarded to Allard Construction of Binbrook.
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