July 9, 2026

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS REVEAL GRAVENHURST’S HISTORY AT ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH HERITAGE TOURS THIS WEEKEND

Historian Judy Humphrey to spotlight 24 memorial windows, prominent pioneer families and First World War soldier Cyril Power Palmer during three guided tours, talks

GRAVENHURST — Every stained glass window at St. James Anglican Church tells a story, and local historian Judy Humphrey is ready to share them.

As part of St. James Anglican Church’s Heritage Weekend auction Saturday and service Sunday, Humphries will lead three guided tours highlighting the church’s 24 stained glass windows, the families who donated them and the community history they preserve.

Among the stories closest to her heart is that of Cyril Power Palmer, one of 58 soldiers from Gravenhurst, Ryde and Morrison townships who died in the First World War and whose lives are chronicled in her new book, Remembering the Fallen.

“He’s somebody that I’m very proud to talk about,” said Humphries, a local hostorian, archivist and new author said.

Palmer grew up in Gravenhurst, attended local elementary and secondary schools, enlisted at 19 and was killed during the Battle of Hill 70 in 1917.

His family’s prominence in early Gravenhurst is reflected in the church itself. The Palmers dedicated four stained glass windows, including three in the Chapel of the Transfiguration in Cyril’s memory.

The Palmer family also owned the waterfront property at Muskoka Beach that later became the site of today’s Taboo Resort.

Church member and town archivist Judy Humphries turned her unique talents to the history of the 20 or so stained glass windows as part or Heritage Weekend events. Some of the windows are seen in a book on the church’s 150th anniversary. PHOTOS Mark Clairmont MuskokaTODAY.com

The tours will explore far more than the church’s artwork.

Humphrey will explain the biblical figures depicted in each window before telling the stories of the Gravenhurst families who commissioned them, including the Lindsells, Bruntons, Gadsbys, Martyrs, Ports, Walmsleys, Hursts and others whose names helped shape the town’s history.

One particularly moving window commemorates Nora Algoma Martyr, who died at the age of five. Her memorial depicts a kneeling angel in prayer.

“It’s one of those little stories,” Humphries said.

Researching the windows has taken weeks, she said, with some families proving easy to trace while others remain mysteries despite searches through historical records and old editions of the Gravenhurst Banner.

Humphrey recently uncovered new information identifying the company that manufactured many of the stained glass windows, along with installation dates she will incorporate into her hour-long walking tour through the church and chapel.

The current St. James Anglican Church was built in 1888 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1882. The congregation’s original church, built in 1867, stood near the present-day St. James Anglican Cemetery on the main street.

The church’s oldest stained glass window dates to 1888. Installed to the glory of God and in honour of the first Bishop of Algoma, it predates the many family memorial windows added over subsequent decades.

Humphrey’s tours begin in the church nave with the window depicting St. Matthew before moving through the sanctuary and into the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

“I think it’ll be interesting and fun to talk about them because there are people who were really important in the development of Gravenhurst,” she said.

The guided tours on Hotchkiss Street, a block of Muskoka Road South, are scheduled for:

Saturday, July 11: 11 to 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, July 11: 12:30 to 1 p.m.
Sunday, July 12: 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., immediately following the church service.