The Oro African Methodist Episcopal Church was slowly moved onto a new foundation today as an excited crowd watched in anticipation.
Built by black pioneers in 1847, the church located at Old Barrie Road and Oro-Medonte Line 3, was designated a national historic site in 2000.
"It's amazing," said an ecstatic Janie Cooper-Wilson, a descendant of the Oro black settlement. "If I could sing, I'd be singing Oh Happy Day."
Cooper-Wilson's three-times great grandparents were married in the church and her four-time great grandfather was a trustee.
"177 years from the time the ancestors put it there and to see all of this and to be a part of it, I'll carry this with me to the day I die," said Cooper-Wilson.
The church is crucial to Canadian history and is the hub of the African Canadian community that was in Oro.
The settlers in the area were black soldiers who defended Upper Canada with Captain Runchey’s Company of Coloured Men.
Project manager Shawn Binns, Director of Recreation and Community Services for the Township of Oro-Medonte, summed up the operation as "complex."
"It certainly withstood the test of time and what we're doing is giving it a whole new life cycle," said Binns. "There are heritage aspects versus current engineering aspects because it is a public building so it is a bit of a juggling act."
Workers elevated the church and constructed a foundation underneath before sliding it back onto its new home.
The log structure, which had a dirt floor, has been hit by vehicles twice and the pieces had to fit together like a puzzle as it was placed on its new foundation.
Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes was joined by several councillors at the site to watch the big move.
"This is absolutely better than I had anticipated. The fact that this church is being put back in a way that is going to last for many generations," said Hughes. "There's been a lot of patchwork done on the church but this time it's been more than patchwork. It's been done really right and it won't have to be the next generation even that won't have to get involved as far as the structure is concerned."
There is still a long way to go to restore the national treasure but Hughes said the big work to be done is to ensure the story gets told through generations.
"It's all about who we are as individuals, who we are as Canadians," said Cooper-Wilson. "It will be like a catalyst to educate people about the collective history of Canada which for so many years was obliterated or tucked under the rug."
Starting in 2016, the restoration will focus on the inside of the church.
