Richmond Parish was named by Samuel Holland in 1765 for Lots 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, one of 14 designated Church of England, or Anglican, parishes. The first visit by an Anglican clergyman to this area was in 1821 when L.C. Jenkins visited. He was later to become the rector of the parish in 1823 in response to a letter from the citizens of St. Eleanor's to the society for the Propagation of the Gospel. He also ministered to Bideford. Services were conducted in the homes of the congregation until St. John's Church was begun in 1825. It was still unfinished when it burned in1835. A new church, begun in 1838 reached completion in 1842. The parish also included preaching stations in Kensington, Wilmot Valley, and Summerside. St. Mary's Church in Summerside was built in 1861 and the two churches became separate corporations in 1899, the same year that new rectory was built in Summerside.