The first Presbyterian congregation in Harvey was organized in 1840, the religion having been brought over from Britain with the first settlers three years before.
The first Presbyterian Church built in 1851 was located across the road from the present day Knox Presbyterian Church. The ‘Disruption’, a disagreement that led to a break from the United Presbyterian Churches of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland affected the Harvey Church. The division led to a second Presbyterian church being built at the present site of the St. Andrew’s United Church, in addition to the first church. This new church (also known as the “Upper Church”) burned on Christmas Eve, 1895. A new church was quickly rebuilt and dedicated on Jan. 24, 1897 The original church became a sort of Community Hall, after the reunifying of the North American Free and United Presbyterian Churches in 1861.
A second major ‘Disruption’ occured in 1925 when the Methodist, Congregational and some Presbyterian churches merged to form the United Church. The result was a split in the Presbyterian congregation when some joined the new United Church while others remained with the Presbyterian Church. The church building was handed over to the United congregation.
The Presbyterians then decided to build a new church across the road from the first Presbyterian Church and named it the Knox Presbyterian Church. It was completed and dedicated in 1927. On the day of the dedication, 228 autos and 19 horse drawn vehicles were counted around the church.
On July 11, 1971, a Christian Education Centre was dedicated which housed a Ladies Parlour, a study and numerous Sunday School classrooms. The Young Peoples’ Hall, which originally sat next door to the church building, was moved to its present site in 1996 and is now attached to the main church complex. The dedication of the new attached hall took place in the spring of 1999.
Source: Harvey Heritage Archives