Beaverdams Church is the oldest Methodist church still standing in Ontario and also the oldest to have remained in continuous use. It was constructed three years following the passing of an 1829 Act "for the relief of religious societies" whereby trusteeships could be formed to own property and construct churches. Beaverdams was the oldest and chief settlement lying wholly in Thorold Township. This community had the first township post office, and other amenities. On June 26, 1832 the deed of this one acre site was transferred from Hiram Swayze to the trustees of Beaverdams Methodist Episcopal Church. The date of construction and the contractor are unknown as some records have been lost to history. Warren Moore was the first child to be baptized in this church. Sunday school was first organized in 1840. On June 19 & 20, 1932 the Centennial Celebration was conducted by Rev. Judson Kelly, a descendent of Isaac Kelly who was the first white child born in Thorold Township. Also participating in the service were Rev. T.H. Bole, Rev. Harvey Forster, and six other ministers of the United Church. In 1965 Ms. Ethel Swayze, a descendent of Hiram Swayze, unveiled an historical plaque. This church is the site of the first "free school" in Canada (1847) organized by Rev. Egerton Ryerson, the father of education in Ontario.
The site includes a cemetery in which are burned a number of notable people from the time of construction, before, and after that era. The first recorded burial is of Daniel Totten. Others interred therein include: Hiram Swayze, Isaac Kelly, and Obadiah Hopkins.
This is a New England Meeting House style church of clapboard over a framework of massive oak timbers infilled with soft brick. It was built with minimum classical detailing around exterior doors & interior columns. It originally had 26 windows of double hung sash type with 12 over 12 panes. It has an arched ceiling flanked by galleries supported by round columns. The woodwork in the partitioned off galleries remains unfinished as it was originally throughout most of the building. Changes and repairs have been carried out over the years but none radically altered the fabric of the building.