The "Then" photo here was most likely taken just after the completion of the church, sometime in 1892 or 1893. Both it and the "Now" photo were taken from Bancroft Street, looking southwest.
Zion United Church was established in 1925 with Church Union in Canada and the commensurate union of Zion Presbyterian Church, founded in 1892, and Ashcroft Methodist Church, founded in 1897. The building was erected the year of the founding of Zion Presbyterian church, in 1892. It has remained active continuously since that time.
Built with symmetry in mind, the rectangular nave stands behind a centered steeple/bell tower which is set about half its depth into the nave and serves as the main entrance. Below a tall pyramidal spire topped with a ball finial and an ornate weathervane is a belfry with open vents and slatted vents further below. All openings in the Gothic Revival building have Roman arched tops, as do the lower belfry vents. Much like its sister church, St. Alban’s the Martyr, built in 1891, the church has not been upgraded with aluminum of vinyl siding, still wearing its original wood shiplap siding and wood trim, with one exception. That is that the belfry has been resided with vinyl. This is likely because the higher parts of steeples seldom receive new paint as often as does the rest of the building.
An old photo in the Village of Ashcroft heritage plaque indicates that the church initially sported some visual enhancements which have been removed. Along the ridge of the gable was once a row of carved wood decorations. Around the belfry was once a prominent eave, the top of which was decorated with similar carvings.
While the church is still active a
2017 news article, which relates the story of the disbanding of the Ashcroft United Church Women, may be a harbinger of the future of the church.
ZION UNITED CHURCH
Built in 1892, this was originally a Presbyterian Church, used by both Presbyterian and Methodist ministers. By 1898 the Methodists had their own church, and in 1925 the two churches united. The Methodist Church was moved to the rear of the Zion United Church, where it served as a church hall until replaced in 1960. The interior of the church has been preserved with its lofty ceilings and the original kerosene lamps on the walls. In 1992 it celebrated its one hundredth anniversary.
From the heritage plaque at the church