About Turner Chapel
Our mission at Turner Chapel is to bring the past to life by curating the very finest antiques, showcasing the fascinating stories behind them, and creating the means through which these unique and valuable objects can be given a new home and appreciated for years to come.
About Our Location
Turner Chapel was an African Methodist Episcopalian Church located at 37 Lakeshore Road West in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1890. An earlier structure, built on the east side of Sixteen Mile Creek, had burned down. The west side of the river, where artisans lived, was a more welcoming environment for Oakville's "Black Church". The church was given the honour of being named after Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, as he was an advocate of the back-to-Africa movement, and the first black chaplain, appointed by Abraham Lincoln, during the American Civil War.
African Americans had arrived in the Oakville Bronte area as early as the 1830s. With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act 1850 a significant increase was noted in the number of former slaves leaving the northern states and following the North Star into Canada West (Ontario). Among the arriving fugitives was James Wesley Hill who later would be responsible as an agent of the underground railroad for assisting many former slaves into Canada and giving them temporary employment on his farm to help them get established. About 1860, Samuel Adams and his brother-in-law, Rev. William Butler (ordained in the A.M.E. church) set about organizing an estimated three or four hundred fugitives in the vicinity. After many set-backs, suitable land was acquired on the present site for a church. The corner-stone for the building was placed in 1891. On January 1, 1892, the doors of Turner Chapel A.M.E. church were opened for service under the leadership of Rev. William Roberts. A salute was tendered to Bishop Henry McNeal Turner the first black chaplain in Armed Forces of the U.S.A, and a dedicated community worker, when his name was applied to this sanctuary. The church remained open until the end of the twentieth century.
In 2002 Jed Gardner, a prominent antique dealer in Oakville, decided to move his established shop to this site. He purchased the Church and the associated Manse for his burgeoning antique business. Jed worked with the Oakville Historical Society to preserve the structure and maintain a “respectful use” of a place of worship. Jed sees himself as a custodian of an important part of the history of Oakville and he continues to conduct research on the early years of the church and its contribution to this community.
African Americans had arrived in the Oakville Bronte area as early as the 1830s. With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act 1850 a significant increase was noted in the number of former slaves leaving the northern states and following the North Star into Canada West (Ontario). Among the arriving fugitives was James Wesley Hill who later would be responsible as an agent of the underground railroad for assisting many former slaves into Canada and giving them temporary employment on his farm to help them get established. About 1860, Samuel Adams and his brother-in-law, Rev. William Butler (ordained in the A.M.E. church) set about organizing an estimated three or four hundred fugitives in the vicinity. After many set-backs, suitable land was acquired on the present site for a church. The corner-stone for the building was placed in 1891. On January 1, 1892, the doors of Turner Chapel A.M.E. church were opened for service under the leadership of Rev. William Roberts. A salute was tendered to Bishop Henry McNeal Turner the first black chaplain in Armed Forces of the U.S.A, and a dedicated community worker, when his name was applied to this sanctuary. The church remained open until the end of the twentieth century.
In 2002 Jed Gardner, a prominent antique dealer in Oakville, decided to move his established shop to this site. He purchased the Church and the associated Manse for his burgeoning antique business. Jed worked with the Oakville Historical Society to preserve the structure and maintain a “respectful use” of a place of worship. Jed sees himself as a custodian of an important part of the history of Oakville and he continues to conduct research on the early years of the church and its contribution to this community.
Our Team
For more information on our team, click through to Storia's website: