Wentworth United Baptist Church
Title
Wentworth United Baptist Church
Church Name
Wentworth United Baptist Church
Church Association
Cumberland Association
Province
Nova Scotia
County
Cumberland County
Address
13755 Highway 4, Wentworth, Nova Scotia
Status
Active
Date
Built 1874
Historical Information
Wentworth United Baptist Church, built in 1874, is a modest, wooden country church sitting on Highway 104 in Nova Scotia’s rural Wentworth Valley. The one-storey church is near the edge of the main road on a flat, open lot with no trees or greenery to hide its simple, unadorned features. The church congregation was organized in 1838 and the church structure was later built in 1874.
The value of Wentworth United Baptist Church lies in its association with the history of the Baptist denomination in Cumberland County, and, in particular, in its association with the Reverend Obed Chute. Value is also found in its being a good example of a nineteenth century,
country Baptist Church built in the meeting house tradition, with Greek Revival and Gothic Revival elements.
Historical Value
The Wentworth United Baptist Church represents one of the first Protestant denominations established in Cumberland County. The Wentworth Baptist community was officially organized in 1838, built its first church in 1847, and then replaced it with this structure in 1874. The church sits across the highway from the community centre and has played a central role in community activity.
The congregation is also proud of its association with the Reverend Obed Chute, who was ordained in the church in 1850. Chute, originally from the Annapolis Valley, is noted for his ministry in Digby and Yarmouth during the second half of the nineteenth century. He is also the father of Dr. Arthur C. Chute, a renowned clergyman who served as Dean of the Department of Theology at Acadia University, and the grandfather of the Reverend Arthur Hunt Chute, a distinguished author and editor.
Architectural Value
The Wentworth United Baptist Church is representative of many rural, Protestant churches built in Cumberland County in the mid to late nineteenth century. It is a symmetrical, wooden, one-storey, modest Greek Revival structure with a medium-pitch roof and a pedimented front gable.
The symmetry characteristic of the meeting house tradition is evident in the church’s centered entry and the three windows that line each side of the church. The most prominent features of this simple church are the Gothic Revival windows and the plain, square steeple tower rising from the front porch of the church. In keeping with the Gothic Revival theme, the tower is decorated in front with a small, pointed-arch window.
Information and images from Canada Historic Places
The value of Wentworth United Baptist Church lies in its association with the history of the Baptist denomination in Cumberland County, and, in particular, in its association with the Reverend Obed Chute. Value is also found in its being a good example of a nineteenth century,
country Baptist Church built in the meeting house tradition, with Greek Revival and Gothic Revival elements.
Historical Value
The Wentworth United Baptist Church represents one of the first Protestant denominations established in Cumberland County. The Wentworth Baptist community was officially organized in 1838, built its first church in 1847, and then replaced it with this structure in 1874. The church sits across the highway from the community centre and has played a central role in community activity.
The congregation is also proud of its association with the Reverend Obed Chute, who was ordained in the church in 1850. Chute, originally from the Annapolis Valley, is noted for his ministry in Digby and Yarmouth during the second half of the nineteenth century. He is also the father of Dr. Arthur C. Chute, a renowned clergyman who served as Dean of the Department of Theology at Acadia University, and the grandfather of the Reverend Arthur Hunt Chute, a distinguished author and editor.
Architectural Value
The Wentworth United Baptist Church is representative of many rural, Protestant churches built in Cumberland County in the mid to late nineteenth century. It is a symmetrical, wooden, one-storey, modest Greek Revival structure with a medium-pitch roof and a pedimented front gable.
The symmetry characteristic of the meeting house tradition is evident in the church’s centered entry and the three windows that line each side of the church. The most prominent features of this simple church are the Gothic Revival windows and the plain, square steeple tower rising from the front porch of the church. In keeping with the Gothic Revival theme, the tower is decorated in front with a small, pointed-arch window.
Information and images from Canada Historic Places
Files
Collection
Citation
“Wentworth United Baptist Church,” Atlantic Baptist Built Heritage Project , accessed April 19, 2024, https://atlanticbaptistheritage.omeka.net/items/show/205.