The church became the Uniting Church in 1977, and remained in use until 1987. When it was built in 1910 it was the only church in the town and parishioners of all denominations attended Sunday services together. The four windows depict Pioneer Women, Pioneer Men, Keith in 1988 and the National Trust and were constructed by 30 members of the local community under the assistance of the artist Debra Lutze. Of particular interest are the leadlight windows which were constructed as part of the Bicentennial Project. It is a well-proportioned limestone church in Gothic style with red brick quoins, and entrance porch and a transverse vestry at the rear. Located on Heritage Street this building was constructed in 1910. In 1889 the town was officially proclaimed and named after Lord Kintore, the Governor of South Australia who was also known as Lord Keith because his ancestral home in Aberdeenshire, Scotland was called Keith Hall. Keith is located 225 km south east of Adelaide via Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend. It has been referred to as the lucerne capital of Australia as lucerne is a vital local crop. Since then it has been at the centre of an area rich in grain crops and cattle grazing. Keith is a small rural centre which owes its existence to the discovery in the 1940s that certain vital trace elements could convert this very marginal, almost desert, wasteland into a rich agricultural area. Peter’s Church were used in the construction.Rural service town known as the Gateway to the Limestone Coast Old stained-glass windows and bricks from the inner walls of the St. Sandwich resident Thomas Kelleher was awarded the construction contract.įinally, the corner stone of what was then to be called Corpus Christi Church was laid in 1900. Many stepped forward with support and money to help build a new church. The building was declared unsafe and shut in 1899. In 1898 St Peter’s was again badly damaged by a fierce storm known as the Portland Gale. Poverty prevailed for many of the Sandwich families. However, the Keith Car Works in then Sagamore, part of Bourne was able to employ a small number of the former Sandwich glass workers. With the eventual decline of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company came massive unemployment in Sandwich. Clinton played a big part in having these repairs done and restoring the church. Peter’s leaving the walls in serious weakness. Wisely a smaller bell tower replaced the tall structureĪs perhaps a harbinger of things to come, a fire in 1887 badly damaged the interior of the brick St. steeple with bell, clock and ruby glass ball was destroyed. The church to last for all time almost immediately was hit by fierce storms, the first destructive one came in 1857 when the 160 ft. and there is a plaque on the building which we call the MacDonald Arnold Building. In 1972 the building was joined to stores adjacent to it. The original wooden church was sold and moved from Depot Square to a site on Jarves Street to be used as a grocery store. The new construction began in 1852 and the difference between the first flimsy, small wooden structure and the new St Peter’s built to last for all time, was striking. Moran, who had served as a missionary to Native Americans in Maine, led this effort for a new larger church for Sandwich. The need for a much larger church was now obvious. The Glass Works helped to support this growing population by building still more homes for the workers which could be purchased on the installment plan. However, the Irish Famine of the 1840s and the Railroad arriving in Sandwich in 1848 produced a growth spurt. The number of Catholics in Sandwich varied with the economy and the amount of work provided by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Works. Peter Connolly was appointed to serve Sandwich, but he also served Wareham, New Bedford, Rhode Island, Canton and elsewhere! Catholic priests were rare and those that were here were forced to travel all the time.
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