Third Horton (Canaan) United Baptist Church

Third Horton (Canaan) United Baptist Church

Third Horton (Canaan) United Baptist Church

Eastern Valley Association

Nova Scotia

Kings County

767 Canaan Mountain Road

Active

Built 1874

A church in Canaan, Kings County, dates to 1856, with nineteen members making up the roll call. Around this time a church was built. Later, in 1874, it was decided that a larger and more commodious building was needed to better serve the community and congregation. This church is in the Meeting House style with a three-bay façade on the gable end, with a steeply pitched roof. Centrally placed on the gable end is a tall and slender pointed window, like those found on either side of the building. On each side of this pointed window are two entrances, one on the left and the other on the right side. Often these two doors were intended for one to be used by the men and the other for the women, who would usually sit on opposite sides of the church. The design of this church features sets of three, such as the three-bay façade on the gable end, the three sets of Gothic windows on each side of the church. One of the most eye-catching features of this church that remains today are the three Gothic/Victorian hand carved architectural embellishments located on the peak and eaves on the front façade. Along with this is the very small open cage belltower, which is classical in design, with its four pilasters, and contains a small bell. The mouldings on the top of the pointed windows that go down the sides of the windows are also unique to this building.

The church has been relatively unchanged on the exterior since 1874, with a small addition built later to the back, but which does not appear to impact the historical and architectural significance of the building. This addition contains a recreational room, kitchen, office space for the church, plus access to a basement area. In 2014, the sanctuary space was renovated, removing the pews and replacing them with moveable seating. This space was also painted a light brown color.

Information provided by the church and Churches of Kings County Nova Scotia