The quilt is now 125 years old. It was quilted as a fundraiser by the ladies of the Temple Hill (then Presbyterian) Church in 1894. The family names of the congregation and the amount each family contributed are embroidered on the quilt squares. The embroidered picture of the church is of interest, as it shows the steps leading to the sanctuary on the outside of the building. (The foyer was added at a later date.)

The quilt was presented to Mrs. McLaren, wife of the minister Rev. James Fraser McLaren. Mrs. McLaren was the former Margaret Breadner, a great aunt of the late Jas. R. Breadner family of Temple Hill. The McLaren’s retired to Berkeley, California in 1910.

Rev. McLaren’s granddaughter, Margaret McLaren (Mrs. Peggy Smith) visited the area in 1997 and was surprised to find the church alive and active! Therefore she decided this quilt should be kept by the Temple Hill congregation. She apologizes that the quilt is not in pristine condition, as it has been used. The present congregation are delighted to have it, as a historical record of the early days of Temple Hill United Church.

Family names embroidered on the Quilt are: Abercrombie; Armstrong; Bennet; Best; Black; Bowler; Boyd; Breadner; Burns; Carruthers; Clarke; Clugston; Cook; Crabtree; Curry; Davis; Dillon; Dodson; Donnelly; Dunlop; Erskine; Falls; Fothergill; Foy; Gardner; Gillies; Gilray; Henning; Hutchison; Irwin; Jackson; Johnston; Lemon; Lougheed; Lush; Manarey; Manning; Martin; Mathers; McArthur; McCollough; McLaren; McLaughlin; McMaghan; Merser; Murdock; Murray; Neeley; Orr; Patton; Patterson; Ptolemy; Quinton; Richards; Smith; Sturgeon; Tait; Taylor; Trickey; Wilson