Sperling Church and Hall

Built in 1912, the Sperling Church and Hall are significant because of their social values and their historic association with first the Methodist Church and then the United Church. They represent a typical example of a church and hall in a rural location, and also illustrate the early settlement efforts of this part of Langley.

Sperling was a recognized community within the Langley Township and came into being as a flag station on the British Columbia Electric Railway line in 1910. Before this, it was generally known as Harmsworth. The name Sperling was chosen by the BCER as it needed a name for its interurban schedule. Normally a station was named after a nearby pioneer family, but in this case the BCER used the name of its General Manager, R. H. Sperling. This community was a significant pocket of people who were separated from neigbouring communities by large tracts of agricultural land and who made their living primarily with berry farming, lumbering and shingle mills.

The Church and Hall social values can be found in the early religious and community gathering purposes of the buildings. The village of Sperling was barely a year old when the church opened for services, clearly showing the high value the settlers held for the ability to worship formally. Built in 1953, the hall was used by the community for Christmas concerts, dances, whist drives and cribbage tournaments.

The Church served the community for over fifty years for both religious and social gathering purposes, closing in 1969 when parishioners became too few in number. It is now owned by the Township and managed by the Langley Heritage Society.