Sharon Temple
The Sharon Temple is now a museum site in Sharon, Ontario and was declared a Canadian National Monument in 1990. The building is administered by the Sharon Temple Museum Society (see web links), through which it can also be used for concerts and private events.
The temple itself was built between 1825 and 1832 by the Quaker sect "Children of Peace" under the direction of David Willson (1778–1866). Today's museum also includes David Willson's "writing house", the Ebenezer-Doan house that was moved from a nearby farm, a "cooking house" that the sect used to cook and eat together, and various other historical structures. The museum and temple were last extensively restored in 2011.
The temple was the nucleus of a village that the Children of Peace first called "Hope"; It was renamed Sharon in 1841 and is now part of East Gwillimbury Ward.
History and previous use
Children of Peace
After the American David Willson came to Canada in 1801, following the example of his wife, he joined the Quakers. However, differences soon arose with the official Quaker Association, and by 1812 Wilson and his followers separated from the mainstream of that denomination. Wilson and his associates often played an important role in the development of Canadian democracy, supporting Robert Baldwin and Louis LaFontaine , despite threats from the Orange Order of Canada. After Willson's death in 1866, however, the sect slowly dissolved, and the last service in the Temple was held in 1889.
The Children of Peace can certainly be viewed as a utopian society. In addition to Wilson's direct political activities, the Children also set up the first reception center for the homeless in Canada and were involved in organizing the first Ontario cooperative. Thanks to their cooperatively operated agriculture, they were able to secure economic success without blindly striving for profit. One of the Children’s economic goals was to sell goods at a fixed price that allowed their own needs to be met, while disregarding the highest possible price.
The temple
In a vision called to "adorn a Christian church in the splendor of Israel", the Children of Peace wanted to create a new Solomons Temple here and use it as the center of their own " New Jerusalem ". The building should astonish visitors. Symbolically, the Children of Peace thought they were Israelites who had fled into the wilderness of Upper Canada at the knack of the English pharaohs.
The temple, which was supposed to express the ideals of the groups, combines Quaker traditions with elements from the Old Testament and the liberal ideas of the sect. The building was designed as a square, which should symbolize the equality of all: "The door in the center of the four sides is to let the people come in from the east and west, the north and south on equal and the same footing." In the center of the building is the Children's Ark of the Covenant , a replica of the temple that contains a Bible, open to the Ten Commandments page; around the ark, four pillars symbolized the basic beliefs of the church: faith, love, hope and mercy. Further away from the center, twelve more posts symbolized the twelve disciples of Jesus whose names they bear. The temple itself stretches towards heaven in three stages, which in turn symbolize the Trinity. The four corners of each step are decorated with ornate lamps, which are supposed to illuminate the missionary work of the apostles. At the highest point of the temple, carried by the upper four lamps, there is a golden globe, which was supposed to express the sect's greatest hope - peace on earth. One of the most impressive elements of the temple is the very steep and elegantly curved staircase that leads to the higher levels and is called "Jacob's Ladder".
Ebenezer Doan, Master Builder
The "Master Builder" of Sharon Temple, Ebenezer Doan (1772–1866), not only designed the building, but also executed it. Doan joined the Children of Peace from Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1812. His house, built in 1819, was moved to the open air museum's land and restored.
The Temple as a museum
The York Pioneer & Historical Society
The Toronto-based York Pioneer and Historical Society acquired the Temple and surrounding property in 1917; It was opened as a museum in 1918. Shortly afterwards, David Willson's writing house was moved to the museum's property. This is one of the earliest examples of historic site preservation and protection in Canada (and one of the reasons the site was declared a National Monument in 1993). From the 1950s onwards, the history of the Children of Peace became more prominent and the York Pioneers had Ebenezer Doan's house moved to the property. In 1967 a separate exhibition building followed. In 1991, the newly created Sharon Temple Museum Society took on the task of maintaining buildings, artifacts and documents.
Music and other cultural activities
The Children of Peace were fond of music from the start; there were regular singing and music events, and the first Ontario organ was built for the Sharon community. The very good acoustics in the interior have made the temple popular again for recordings by Canadian artists in recent years. During the musical performances during the times of the Children of Peace, the first floor was mostly used for the musicians, while the congregation or the audience sat on the ground floor.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the building of the temple in 1981, the York Pioneer and Historical Society organized the annual summer concerts called "Music at Sharon". In 1990, instead of various concerts, a commissioned opera ("Serinette") was produced by Harry Somers . Music at Sharon has commissioned numerous musical works over the years.
The film Samuel Lount, shot largely on the premises of Laurence Keane's museum, about one of the protagonists of the 1837 rebellions , was presented in 1985.
In 1990 the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies recorded their album "The Caution Horses" at the Sharon Temple; the cover of the album shows the musicians in front of the temple.
In 2010 Loreena McKennitt recorded her album The Wind That Shakes the Barley in the temple: "There is a fascinating interplay between architecture and sound, visually and sonically. The temple inspired us all."
Sharon Temple, Sharon, Ontario, ca.1860.
Richard Coates Keyboard Organ, Sharon Temple Museum
Rebellion Box, Sharon Temple Museum
Jacob's Ladder, Sharon Temple
literature
- Gladys M. Rolling: A history in Sharon . In: East Gwillimbury in the nineteenth century . Ryerson Press, 1967.
Web links
- Sharon Temple Museum Society
- Rebuilding Hope: Celebrating our social-democratic heritage
- 175 Years of Hope - A Celebration of the Sharon Temple and the Children of Peace
Individual evidence
- ↑ Albert Schrauwers: 'Union is Strength': WL Mackenzie, The Children of Peace and the Emergence of Joint Stock Democracy in Upper Canada . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2009, pp. 125-149, 211-243.
- ↑ http://www.sharontemple.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=15%7CHistory of the Children of Peace (EN)
- ↑ Albert Schrauwers: Awaiting the Millennium: The Children of Peace and the Village of Hope, 1812-1889 . University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1993, p. 111.
- ↑ Article by J. Lubbock in the Wall Street Journal (EN)
- ^ John McIntyre: Tradition and Innovation: Ebenezer Doan and the Buildings of the Children of Peace . In: Canadian Quaker History Journal . 46, 1989, pp. 6-16.
- ^ History of the Museum .
- ^ [1] Loreena McKennitt's website
Coordinates: 44 ° 6 ′ 4.8 ″ N , 79 ° 26 ′ 30.7 ″ W.