In 1822, Henry Steeves founded the Hillsborough Baptist Church in partnership with Rev. Joseph Crandall. The first Meeting House in Hillsborough was occupied jointly by Methodists and Baptists. This building was later sold and moved. A new meeting house was built by the Baptist congregation and the first service was held on October 20, 1838. This building was in use for 30 years, after which it was sold and moved across the street for use as a storefront.
A new structure was built (46’ x 76’), during which time the congregation worshipped in a nearby hall. The vestry was completed first in 1870 and was used for services until the auditorium was finished. In 1874, the church was dedicated.
Sometime in 1900, the church caught fire near the pulpit. The fire was discovered in time to save the church but not before considerable damage was done. During the repairs, the church building was extended to make room for a pipe organ and the space under this was made into a classroom. In 1902, a new vestry was attached to the main building and the Sunday School moved into that area. In 1908 a new pipe organ and baptistry were added.
On June 13, 1910, the church and parsonage burned to the ground. The cost of the new church (which still stands) was $15,575. An additional $10,000 was spent to furnish the church with seats, organ, heating system, etc. bringing the total cost to $25,000. There were several special donations – pulpit chairs, art glass for the windows, steam heating plant, the bell, the pulpit and communion table, the Vestry Chairs and bookcases.
The vestry was first opened March 17, 1912, and until the auditorium was ready for use, was used for all services. The church was dedicated on Sunday June 5, 1912.
On May 18, 1941, funds were donated to install electric lights in the church. Sometime after 1948, a new classroom was built, and the church was redecorated by the Ladies Sewing Circle and Ladies Guild. In 1962, the church building was rewired, and new light fixtures installed. In 1965, the church auditorium was repainted, the burlap wainscotting replaced by grain board, the vestry curtains were removed, the walls partly partitioned off, and sliding Akron-style doors installed. Complete double lavatories were installed in the basement.
During 1977 and 1978, many repairs and renovations were done to the church. A youth room was constructed in the basement. The main auditorium and entranceway were carpeted, the auditorium repainted, and a new Hammond Organ purchased. The south side of the church was covered with vinyl siding in order to reduce the cost of painting in the future. The boiler was also overhauled.
In 2011, the congregation decided it had outgrown its current building and the church was sold. The building changed hands a few times and is now owned by baker Oliver Hofer. Several other businesses also rent space in the building. Owner Oliver Hofer is keen to preserve the history and character of the space as it finds new life as a business centre.
A larger, more modern church was constructed between 2011-2013. The pipe organ was moved from the original building and installed in the new church as a decorative element in the foyer.
In 1822, Henry Steeves founded the Hillsborough Baptist Church in partnership with Rev. Joseph Crandall. In 1871, the pastor, Rev. John Hughes, decided to establish a satellite Baptist church less than three kilometres away in Surrey and by 1877, fifty members from the Hillsborough Church formed the first congregation in ‘The Valley’.
In 1913 kerosene lighting gave way to natural gas. Electricity did not arrive until 1942, five years after a telephone was installed. The church building was placed on a foundation in 1963 and the 1100 square metre Fellowship Centre was dedicated in 2000, which also includes a gymnasium.
The Valley Baptist Church (now known as Surrey Valley Baptist Church) is recognized for being an example of rural Gothic Revival religious architecture from the 19th century. This style is evident in such features of the original building as its rectangular plan, the use of Gothic arch windows, and the central square tower on the front façade.
The Surrey Valley Baptist Church is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the religious history of the area and for its architecture.
Information (edited for brevity) from Canada’s Historic Places.
On February 11, 1954 Baptist residents of Riverview met in a school auditorium to discuss establishing a church building.
On June 2, 1954 the meeting to organize the Riverview Heights United Baptist Church was held. The name was later changed to Riverview United Baptist Church in 1975.
At the end of 1954 the Home Mission Board bought land in a central Riverview location. In 1956 the church building had been erected but only the basement was suitable for holding services. Much of the work was done by the members. The church was dedicated May 11, 1958.
The Middle Coverdale United Baptist Church expressed a desire to unite with the Riverview Church and 16 new members were added on February 12, 1961. In 1962 it was decided to add a Christian Education Centre, and a sod turning ceremony was held October 11. Dedication of the Centre was held February 10, 1963.
In 2018, a proposal was put forward for the Riverview Baptist Church to join the Journey Church. The motion was passed in June 2018 and Riverview Baptist Church became the third location of the multi-site Journey Church.
The First Harvey Baptist Church is an impressive fixture of Albert County. It is a beautiful and architecturally significant building designed in the Meeting House style, a common style among Baptists in early to mid-nineteenth century Atlantic Canada. This style is often characterized by its small and rather plain facility, with no steeple, and gothic embellishments. The front entrance was often on the gable end, with either two entrances, one on the left and right sides of the front façade, one meant for the men and the other for women; or a centrally placed doorway. This church is a rather large example of a church in the meeting house style, it being of unusual size for the stylistic choice.
A striking feature from the exterior of the building is the "Four spires with Widow's Walk" feature seen on this church, which was common of churches with square belltowers/towers from this era. The flat roof of the tower has a small spire at each corner with a spindled railing running between the spires. Below is an overhanging eave, below which are dentils on a wood moulding. The Roman arched belfry vents are covered with what appears to be a metal baffle with fine horizontal slats. Like the rest of the building, it is covered in wooden shiplap siding. The main entrance, centred in the front elevation, consists of a single wood door flanked by sidelights done in the same Roman arched theme as all windows in the building. Above is a triple window, while to the sides are two more tall, slender windows. All around the building under the eaves are dentils which match those of the belfry.
Harvey Parish itself, one of six parishes in Albert County, is only slightly older than the church, having been created in 1838. The area was initially settled in 1763.
Information provided by the church and Waymarking.
While the Alma Baptist Church congregation was established in 1859, this present structure (2022) wasn't built for another forty years in 1899.
While the church presents an asymmetrical profile from the street, it is actually symmetrical about the bell tower, an ell with the tower tucked into the inside of the ell. Eschewing Gothic for a more contemporary architectural style, the architect chose gabled windows for the church, each with a thin hood. At each gable peak, including those of the cross gabled belfry roof, is a sawn decorative panel with intricate scrollwork. The belfry itself has gabled vent openings all around, some now missing the same architectural detailings. On the peak of its roof stands a tall, thin, wood shingle clad spire with a ball finial, from which emanates the shaft of a weathervane.
The tower has four distinct sections: the bottom section ends at the sanctuary's eaves, with the sloping roof wrapping around it; the second section has gabled windows in two sides and ends at the belfry bottom with a wraparound eave; the third section is the belfry; while the fourth is the spire. In the sanctuary's gable peaks, behind the decorative panels, is a section of decorative diamond and truncated scalloped shingles atop a moulding with a gable shape or motif.
This church marks a transitional phase in Baptist church architecture around the turn of the twentieth century from a symmetrical design, usually in the Gothic Revival style, with a centrally placed steeple on the gable end, to an asymmetrical design with the steeple place usually on the side of the structure. Many of these churches, including Alma Baptist, with an asymmetrical design are also based on a modified “Akron Plan,” so named because it was first used in Akron, Ohio in 1867. This design abandoned the traditional long, straight, and narrow sanctuary with a central aisle in favor of a shallower and wider sanctuary with a sloping floor and pews which sweep in a half-circle and are broken into three sections. The purpose of these features was to enable everyone to see and hear clearly in a time when sound and projection systems were nonexistent.
This church has continued to maintain much of its original architectural embellishments and features that set this building apart from others in the region. Many character defining elements, such as the gingerbread detailing below the peak on the gable end and the detail on the steeple, are features found on no other building in the region. The building still holds its stained-glass windows, and the use of gothic 90-degree points can be found throughout this building, including the pointed windows and architectural embellishments on the facades of the structure.
Information provided by the church and Waymarking.
The Germantown Baptist Church was constructed in the Meeting House style, a common style among Protestant congregations in early to mid-nineteenth century Atlantic Canada. This style is often characterized by its small and rather plain facility, with no steeple, and gothic embellishments. The front entrance was often on the gable end, with either two entrances, one on the left and right sides of the front façade, one meant for the men and the other for women; or a centrally placed doorway. In the case of this structure, it had two entrances.
This structure had classical architectural design, evident through the uncluttered façades, corner pilaster boards, and classical style pediments adorning the doorways and windows. The front façade on the gable end, in its simplistic design, was broken into three bays. The central bay had a rounded top window located near the peak of the medium pitched roof, and a larger, rectangular windows was located near the base of the structure.
On either side of the structure there were three more classical style rectangular windows with classical pediments. On the rear façade of the church on the gable end, there were two more of these windows, which flanked the pulpit on the interior. The pulpit on the interior of the church was centrally placed between these two windows, and had ornate rounded top woodwork, which was salvaged from the building prior to its dereliction. The building's interior had wainscoting that ran throughout the structure. The interior was rather plain and was covered in plaster. The floor was hardwood, and the ceiling was plaster. This building was vernacular timber frame construction. In 1997 the structure was still standing. In the early 2000’s no trace of the building was left. Prior to it falling down, much of the structure was salvaged and used in other structures. All that remains is the rock foundation and the surrounding cemetery, which is looked after by the Germantown Baptist Cemetery Trust.
Information provided by the Germantown Baptist Cemetery Trust.
Photos courtesy of Acadia University:
Exterior photo D1900.039/116
Interior photo D1900.039/117