A PRETTY SPOT – c. 1908

This may be the earliest photo showing the Church at Miners’ Bay. It also provides some extra-ordinary and unique information about this iconic site.

In 1906, David Galloway sold a piece of property across from his home on the Cameron Road. The Trustees of the “Miners’ Bay Regular Baptist Church” constructed the church, which is still active in the community.

The fence around the structure delineates the small, (one eighth acre), lot. The condition of the fence indicates that this view was taken soon after, as photos from a decade later, show it in dis-repair.

Below the church, the Round Lake Creek is seen flowing into Miners’ Bay. The wooden bridge that crosses the stream is a “modern” improvement on the original structure erected in 1867 when the Cameron Road was built through Miners’ Bay.

Below the bridge are the remnants of the dam that had been built several decades earlier as part of Galloways saw mill operation. The mill was located a little further down the creek, across from the present MBL fire pit. Materials produced at the mill were used to build the original farm house.

Russ Wunker, March 2020