ORWELL HEAD CHURCH

Information for this presentation has been obtained from the book SKY PIONEERS AND THE ISLAND, by Malcolm MacQueen; newspaper clippings, and papers provided by descendants of the Orwell Head congregation.

In 1829, Orwell Head Church was founded when Rev. Donald MacDonald and his followers erected a log Church at the Murray Harbour Road, now known as Orwell Head. These followers of Rev. MacDonald later became know as The MacDonaldites.

Rev. Donald MacDonald was ordained in Scotland in 1816 and emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1824. In 1826, he moved to Prince Edward Island to join his brother Findlay, who was already an Island resident. As his ministry grew at Orwell Head, it was said that rarely had a pastor had a more loyal and faithful congregation than that gathered around Rev. MacDonald and rarely had a congregation been ministered to by a more tireless, enthusiastic and effective leader. One interesting note to Rev. MacDonald's ministry is recorded in the Sky Pioneers. It was interesting to read that it was a common practise in the Church for the men to sit on one side of the Church while the women sat by themselves on the other side. Rev. MacDonald died on February 21, 1867, and is buried in the cemetery at Orwell Head. An impressive monument stands in his memory and is inscribed in four languages; English, Gaelic, Greek and Latin.

About 1840 or 1842, the building erected by the MacDonalites