A hillside church on the Hill family farm explains the origin of the name Churchill. William Hill came to the area around Ninth Line and Aurora Road in 1812 from Ireland, and generations of his family lived on this farm until 1920. William Hill was also a lay minister and operated a general store out of his home. The Churchill Christian Church, built in 1872, was the mainstay of the community. A Methodist Church had also been built in the area in 1864 but was taken down in 1900.