The Baptists of Haldimand and Cramahe townships united in 1798 to form a church. The War of 1812 seriously interrupted its growth but, in March 1817, the members from Haldimand felt strong enough to establish their own church. In 1818 the Rev. Peleg Card, a native of New York State, became their first pastor. This building, the oldest surviving Baptist chapel in Ontario, was erected in 1824.