History of the UU Church in Canton: 200 Years of Unitarian-Universalists in the North Country

St. Lawrence University was founded by the Canton Universalist Church, a religious community celebrating its 200-year anniversary this spring. I was surprised to learn about the 1856 founding tale, largely because I feel like the biggest SLU fan. How could I have no clue about who founded the college that has given so much to me over the past three years? However, after asking around I realized I am not the only one unaware of important St. Lawrence University’s heritage. 

Here’s a snapshot of the past two centuries of the church. Universalism, whose core principle is universal salvation, spread to St. Lawrence County from New England, with the First Universalist Society of Canton being established on November 17, 1825. The church founded St. Lawrence University in 1856, chartering the school as two separate colleges – the theological school and the college of letters and science.  

The theological school was a seminary focused on preparing students for futures in ministry or other religious careers. The College of Letters and Science mirrored a well-rounded education more akin to the liberal arts education offered by SLU in the 21st century.  

In 1961, the Universalists and Unitarians merged to form the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church, which is the name the church goes by today. The UU Church has played a pivotal role connecting the Canton community the past 200 years.   

Peter Beekman grew up going to a Catholic Church outside Boston before attending a parochial boarding school for high school. Beekman did not continue his Catholic-based education in college, instead opting to study at the University of Vermont. Following his graduation in 1976, Beekman worked at UVM for 16 years before moving to Canton in 1989 to work at SLU. 

After having their first child, Beekman and his wife decided to explore a religious experience that was not as doctrine and creed-driven as Catholicism. They joined Canton’s Unitarian Universalist Church in 1994. 

During his first time attending a service, Beekman remembers being struck by how much the church encouraged young children to be themselves. For example, while Catholic Churches would force a mother and her crying baby to leave the service, the UU Church did not.  

“I found that very attractive, and the religious education was very value-based in terms of being welcoming to everyone,” recalls Beekman. “From our perspective, it was like ‘this is part of how we want our kids to be raised and be brought up.’” 

Beekman is also proud of the strides the UU Church has made toward being more welcoming and inclusive of all people, regardless of their gender identity or sexuality. As a liberal, religious community, the UU Church has–and continues to–combat social issues in society, including women’s suffrage, anti-war protests during Vietnam, and LGBTQ+ rights.  

In the local community, the church participates in the Canton Church and Community Program, a charity that works with other local churches to provide food, clothing, and other necessities to those in need. Beekman believes the church’s desire to help others is “embedded in our DNA.” 

St. Lawrence University’s last president, William Fox ’75, grew up attending the Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington, D.C. He heard about St. Lawrence from his minister, Seth Brooks, who graduated from the university in 1922 and theological school in 1924.  

At age 16, Fox visited SLU with Brooks and was accepted into the university two months later. He attended Harvard Divinity School after graduating from SLU. Before serving as a minister for 15 years , he transitioned to full time teaching and academic administration.  

Fox was appointed as the 18th president of St. Lawrence University and a senior lecturer in history in July of 2009. Despite focusing on academic endeavors, Fox stayed connected with the Universalist Church. 

“As president of St. Lawrence I enjoyed attending morning worship at the Canton church whenever I could and always appreciated the occasional opportunity to speak from its pulpit,” says Fox.  

Fox reiterates the importance of St. Lawrence’s Universalist founding. He argues that many of SLU’s athletes are drawn from its Universalist roots. Some of these key values include the dignity of the individual, an openness to differences, the mixing of scholarly disciplines, the trustworthiness of empirical/scientific study, and the ambition to serve one’s community. 

“It is no accident that current day interests on campus about caring for people in need, the quality of our environment, and the essence of democratic institutions are traceable to St. Lawrence’s Universalist heritage,” says Fox. 

Beekman echoes the importance of informing SLU students about the founding of their institution. “Our history is your history, and I think there should be recognition of that,  acknowledgement, or just an understanding of it,” he says. 

Students being unaware of the college’s history is far from new. Class of 1894 graduate Owen D. Young wrote about the phenomena in a 1952 letter to Atwood Manley ’16. 

“I was indeed shocked this summer when a young lady who is now a senior visited us and I discovered that she knew almost nothing about the background of the college and of the people who had made it,” wrote Young. 

All SLU students have heard Young’s name, but that is simply because the library is named after him. “Anyone want to do homework at ODY?” or “Time to study all day at ODY” are common phrases heard around campus from students. However, many do not know Young founded the Radio Corporation of America and was a prominent diplomat that created the Young Plan to settle Germany’s World War I reparations debt. 

“I cannot think of a single historical instance when the Canton UU Church and St. Lawrence University were not in accord with each other on the big questions of life – each organization standing to support the individual’s freedom to explore a life of the mind and the human spirit within a respectful and caring community,” says Wolf. 

Note: I consulted material in the St. Lawrence University Special Collections from the Ellsworth, Manley and McCormick Collections to assist in writing this article. I also used books by Edward J. Blankman and Lottie Southworth to inform myself about the church’s founding and history.