In 1829, William Booth was born in Nottingham, England, and at the young age of thirteen, he started to work in a pawnbroker's shop, supporting his mother and sisters. He disliked his job; it made him realize what poverty really was. From this passion for the poor, William & Catherine Booth founded The Christian Mission in 1865.
The Early Days
Booth founded The Salvation Army in 1878, in London, England, but it wasn't long before the movement spread throughout the world. Currently, The Salvation Army offers aid and the Gospel in over 100 countries, with over 14,000 Corps (centers for worship) as well as social, medical, educational and other duties, concerning the community. Members of the Army are known as Salvationists, and they work under disclipined military style to combat evil. These officers, soldiers, adherents and employees, help others daily.
General William Booth visited Woodstock on no less than four occasions, and his daughter, Commissioner Evangeline Booth, also visited the work in Woodstock.
Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
The Salvation Army had its first meeting in Woodstock on January 20, 1884. Army war songs were heard up and down Dundas Street as they marched to the Town Square. Captain Annie O'Leary, Commanding Officer, "Opened Fire" by announcing that the work in Woodstock would begin. However, there was a slight problem - the Mayor, John M. Grant, and his council members refused to let The Salvation Army rent the Town Hall for meetings.
The Salvationists prayed that one day they would have a place of their own and, in 1886, they finally purchased the Primitive Methodist Church at 34 Graham Street. Renovations in 1912 saw the steeple being removed and the installation of a new facade on the front of the old building.
In 1961, the original building was torn down and a new hall was built. A large addition and renovations were completed in 1973. A Thrift Store later opened in the Avery Motors building, then moved to 50 Finkle Street in 1993. In 2001 the Army purhased the former Poole Family Grocery Store at 190 Huron Street and is currently serving the public from there. Meanwhile, a second Thrift Store and Family Services program has been operating on Main Street in Norwich since 1997. In 1999 a brand new Emergency Housing and Advocacy Program commenced operations at 906 James Street, Woodstock.
Eventually, the congregation that had worshipped on Graham Street for 111 years relocated, in 1997, to a brand-new facility on the corner of Juliana and Norwich Ave.
The Founder
