On this day, four years ago on April 11th, 2014 firefighters battled a devastating fire of the Aurora United Church that was located at the corner of Yonge Street and Tyler Street downtown Aurora. It was an emotional day for the people of Aurora.
On this day I was out of town and I only saw United Church burning from far away. I saw the dark smoke all the way from Jane Street in the King Township. I did arrive on the scene later in the evening when a thick smoke was contained, but the church was still burning on the inside. As firefighters battled a blaze at Aurora United Church many local residents that day gathered to watch in disbelief and shock as the Aurora landmark on Yonge Street burned. The church building after the fire was determined to be unsafe and by the end of the month the structure was demolished.
Today, four years later the church is going to be rebuild and it will be something more, it will serve the retirement community as well. The new church building will have a retirement centre at the back of the property.
The Auroran Story: “When Aurora United Church (AUC) was destroyed in fire in April 2014, the congregation was clear they had every intention to rebuild their spiritual home at their traditional spiritual centre, but little did they realise the long road towards ground-breaking would lead to the recovery of nearly 200 of its earliest parishioners. When the foundations of the first Methodist church on site were laid in 1818, the corner of Yonge and Tyler incorporated both the church itself and its associated cemetery. Over time, and as the community grew, the earliest church reached capacity – as did its cemetery.” Source: Archaeological study shines light on 180 forgotten pioneers
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Anna Lozyk Romeo
Aurora, ON
