Centreville United Baptist Church
Title
Centreville United Baptist Church
Church Name
Centreville United Baptist Church
Church Association
Eastern Valley Association
Province
Nova Scotia
County
Kings County
Address
870 Murray Drive, Centreville, NS
Status
Active
Date
Original built 1920, Current building 1996; addition 2006
Historical Information
Centreville Baptist Church was started in January 1918 when a group of interested people from the surrounding area met with the Reverend A.J. Prosser, the minister of First Cornwallis Baptist Church. This group agreed to form their own congregation under the ministry leadership of First Cornwallis. Thus, Centreville became the eighth and last daughter church of First Cornwallis Baptist Church.
The original church building was erected in the center of the village, at the crossroad. The land was donated by Rhuben Thorpe. The construction cost of $4,406.03was fully paid by the time the building was dedicated on 16 May 1920. In 1974, Centreville Baptist Church made the decision to withdraw from the pastorate in order to have a minister of their own. They called the Reverend Robert Billings as their pastor. This ended fifty-six years of shared ministry and leadership from First Cornwallis. New pews were added to the building in 1950, and four years later Mrs. Newcombe donated a memorial bell. This building had Sunday School rooms added to the rear of the building in 1991; however, they were not used for long as the building was sold soon after and made into a private residence. This building has an off-centred steeple typical of churches around this time. The front entrance is contained in the belltower, which has an open cage belfry. There is a large rectangular window located on the gable end as well. The building has shutters on either side, with matching ones along the steeple. There is a lack of architectural embellishment on the structure, which often suggests in nineteenth and twentieth century churches that they preferred a basic structure; that it was erected very quickly and economically; or that extensive renovations have been made to the exterior, such as the installation of vinyl siding.
In 1989, the congregation moved to explore the building of a new facility to accommodate its growing needs. Lloyd and Kay Murray donated a plot of land located on Murray Drive. The sod was turned on June 23, 1996. The first service was held at the new location on 1 December 1996 and this concrete building was dedicated on 30 March 1997. In 2006, the congregation again moved to add to its building to accommodate its growing congregation and ministry needs.
Building on to its existing facilities, a new sanctuary and new Christian education wing were added. The enlarged structure was completed in 2007. This building is atypical for its time in terms of style; it appears to be ranch-style architecture, which emphasizes the length of the building rather than being wide and has a low to medium pitch roof. The 1996 building has a large modern style cross on the gable end, which is placed on a darker colored vinyl siding apart from the rest of the building, for people to see it. Along the sides of the building there are at least five modern curved windows.
On the back side of the 1996 building is the steel-framed and steel-walled addition which was built in 2006. The main entrance to the sanctuary used to be located on the 1996 building on the left side; however, after the addition was added the main entrance was moved and is located below the new small saddleback steeple. The most eye-catching exterior features of the building today (2021)are the large cross on the gable end which can be seen when travelling on Murray Drive, along with the steeple above the new multi-door entrance on the 2006 addition.
Information provided by the church and Churches of Kings County Nova Scotia
The original church building was erected in the center of the village, at the crossroad. The land was donated by Rhuben Thorpe. The construction cost of $4,406.03was fully paid by the time the building was dedicated on 16 May 1920. In 1974, Centreville Baptist Church made the decision to withdraw from the pastorate in order to have a minister of their own. They called the Reverend Robert Billings as their pastor. This ended fifty-six years of shared ministry and leadership from First Cornwallis. New pews were added to the building in 1950, and four years later Mrs. Newcombe donated a memorial bell. This building had Sunday School rooms added to the rear of the building in 1991; however, they were not used for long as the building was sold soon after and made into a private residence. This building has an off-centred steeple typical of churches around this time. The front entrance is contained in the belltower, which has an open cage belfry. There is a large rectangular window located on the gable end as well. The building has shutters on either side, with matching ones along the steeple. There is a lack of architectural embellishment on the structure, which often suggests in nineteenth and twentieth century churches that they preferred a basic structure; that it was erected very quickly and economically; or that extensive renovations have been made to the exterior, such as the installation of vinyl siding.
In 1989, the congregation moved to explore the building of a new facility to accommodate its growing needs. Lloyd and Kay Murray donated a plot of land located on Murray Drive. The sod was turned on June 23, 1996. The first service was held at the new location on 1 December 1996 and this concrete building was dedicated on 30 March 1997. In 2006, the congregation again moved to add to its building to accommodate its growing congregation and ministry needs.
Building on to its existing facilities, a new sanctuary and new Christian education wing were added. The enlarged structure was completed in 2007. This building is atypical for its time in terms of style; it appears to be ranch-style architecture, which emphasizes the length of the building rather than being wide and has a low to medium pitch roof. The 1996 building has a large modern style cross on the gable end, which is placed on a darker colored vinyl siding apart from the rest of the building, for people to see it. Along the sides of the building there are at least five modern curved windows.
On the back side of the 1996 building is the steel-framed and steel-walled addition which was built in 2006. The main entrance to the sanctuary used to be located on the 1996 building on the left side; however, after the addition was added the main entrance was moved and is located below the new small saddleback steeple. The most eye-catching exterior features of the building today (2021)are the large cross on the gable end which can be seen when travelling on Murray Drive, along with the steeple above the new multi-door entrance on the 2006 addition.
Information provided by the church and Churches of Kings County Nova Scotia
Files
Collection
Citation
“Centreville United Baptist Church,” Atlantic Baptist Built Heritage Project , accessed May 18, 2024, https://atlanticbaptistheritage.omeka.net/items/show/299.