First Baptist Church
141 Queen Street West St Marys
Built 1865-1867

1865 the land originally owned by James Ingersoll from 1856 and later Mr. Davis in 1862, was purchased by the Trustees of the Institute of the Regular Baptist Church in order to build the first Baptist Church in St. Marys. By 1867 the church was opened to serve its parishioners. The church remained on Queen Street West until it was sold in 1902 when a larger Baptist Church opened closer to the town core at 34 Church Street South. The new larger church contains several Romanesque revival features such as the small rectangular tower with half-round stained glass windows and long, narrow arched windows on the rest of the building.

In 1902, the building, now 139-141 Queen Street West, was sold to a carpenter, John C. Weiderhold. According to the 1901 St Marys' census, John, who was born in 1865, was married to Anna Wagner. They were married in 1884 in Waterloo, Ontario. At the time of the census, they were the parents of eight children who ranged in age from eighteen years to a few months. Because there are no assessment records available for the property, it is unknown whether the Weiderholds lived in the property or rented it to tenants.

The family remained in possession of the property until 1913 when they sold it to Lilly May Clubb for $3,000. However, a Right of Way which ran through, and went with the property, was reserved from the sale. The Right of Way was later sold to Leonard Stanley for $1,000.

The property passed through a number of other owners until 1948 when it was sold to George Edgar Roadhouse. George was born in 1905 in Tilbury. He married Margaret White in 1928 in St Marys. In 1931, the couple lived on James Street and George worked at the cement plant as recorded in the census of that year.

According to the St. Marys records, it was George Roadhouse who converted the building to a duplex. The property records show each side of the duplex being sold separately from that period onward.