Text from the Plaque
In 1803 William Macauley, son of a United Empire Loyalist, received a crown grant of some 400 acres of land in this vicinity. Born in Kingston, Macauley was educated under the Rev. John Strachan and at Oxford University. Ordained in 1818, he used his own funds to finance the construction of this church, St. Mary Magdalene, which began in 1825. Macauley also donated land for the District court-house and gaol. The resultant settlement, which through his influence was named Picton, after Sir Thomas Picton, a distinguished British soldier, was incorporated with the adjacent community of Hallowell in 1837. Macauley is buried in this churchyard.
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