Once upon a time, Beaverdams Church on Marlatts Road in Thorold harboured worshipers, attending early morning sermons before a hard day's work.
But waiving attendance at the methodist chapel, built by congregation members in 1832, left the benches empty and the pulpit abandoned, and the institution turned into a Sunday school before the full closure in the 1970s.
Now, the society restoring the historical building is taking the first steps to start working on the interior, with the final goal putting it to use as a possible concert hall or speaker venue.
The interior, featuring a horseshoe-shaped upstairs gallery and a more than 100-year old stage has the capacity to seat around 180 people, heritage consultant and engineer Mark Shoalts said.
"The interior is really beautiful and rustic. It would make a great spot for a small wedding or as a venue. It's a little more refined than a barn, but not a cathedral", he said.
The Friends of Beaverdams Church have tediously been raising money for the repairs.
In 2015 a new roof was put up, and the following years a new foundation, new windows and doors were installed.
This summer, hopes are that work can begin restoring the interior and removing some additions that were made in the late 1800s that would see the interior ceiling opened up and restored to its original balcony-like structure.
While rustic and full of heritage, the site comes with a few drawbacks.
The connecting cemetery and layout of the surrounding make it hard to build a parking lot or install a septic system in the building.
However, Shoalts says there is a chance of a small addition of a washroom building on the site if permission was to be given from the city to install a holding tank.
Overall, Shoalts said that the goal is to put the old chapel to use again, as it has stood the test of time despite all odds.
"It's pretty amazing that it has survived with this little maintenance, or that someone hasn't thrown a match in there or something".
