Forest Hill United Baptist Church
Title
Forest Hill United Baptist Church
Church Name
Forest Hill United Baptist Church
Church Association
Eastern Valley Association
Province
Nova Scotia
County
Kings County
Address
1011 Newtonville Rd, Gaspereau, NS
Status
Active
Date
Built 1897
Historical Information
In the year 1897, the congregation of the Forest Hill United Baptist Church (Kings County, NS) formed, and shortly thereafter began construction on a building. Later that summer the church building was completed on land owned by Earnest and Elmona Schofield. It was not until October 4th, 1903, that the Schofields granted a deed of one fifth of an acre to the Baptist church, at a price of $5.00, which in 2021 would be roughly $120.
In 1936 the building was loaned by the Baptists for a school, but church services continued there also. An additional half-acre of land was sold by Arnold Davidson at $65.00 for the use of a playground for the school. When the school closed in 1965 the playground property was given to the church and the building was renovated and used as solely a church.
This building is a rather plain wood frame construction, with the front entrance on the gable end. The building has had many additions, primarily added to the front façade over time. Originally this building was in the meeting house style, a common style among Baptists in early to mid- ninetieth 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 building has a single entrance centrally placed on the gable end, and had rather classical embellishments, common for the time. Some examples of the classical embellishments are the rectangular windows with simple mouldings around them on either side of the building and 45-degree angle pitched roof.
Around the 1960’s, this building later had an addition, changing the look of the front façade. Along with this addition a small saddleback steeple was placed on the main part of the structure, made of steel, with a cross adorning the point, common for the 1960s. This addition on the front façade is slightly lower than the rest of the building and matches the pitch of the roof on the main structure. There is a large, pointed window in the peak of this addition. In more recent years there has been another addition to the front façade, seen in images 2 and 3. This addition was a
covered entranceway, wheelchair ramp on the right side, and stairs centrally placed in the front of the building. In the peak of the entranceway there is a small wooden cross.
This church has for some time been supplied by the minister of the Gaspereau, White Rock, and Wall Brook Baptist Church pastorate, but is not affiliated with this pastorate (2021).
Information provided by the church and Churches of Kings County Nova Scotia
In 1936 the building was loaned by the Baptists for a school, but church services continued there also. An additional half-acre of land was sold by Arnold Davidson at $65.00 for the use of a playground for the school. When the school closed in 1965 the playground property was given to the church and the building was renovated and used as solely a church.
This building is a rather plain wood frame construction, with the front entrance on the gable end. The building has had many additions, primarily added to the front façade over time. Originally this building was in the meeting house style, a common style among Baptists in early to mid- ninetieth 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 building has a single entrance centrally placed on the gable end, and had rather classical embellishments, common for the time. Some examples of the classical embellishments are the rectangular windows with simple mouldings around them on either side of the building and 45-degree angle pitched roof.
Around the 1960’s, this building later had an addition, changing the look of the front façade. Along with this addition a small saddleback steeple was placed on the main part of the structure, made of steel, with a cross adorning the point, common for the 1960s. This addition on the front façade is slightly lower than the rest of the building and matches the pitch of the roof on the main structure. There is a large, pointed window in the peak of this addition. In more recent years there has been another addition to the front façade, seen in images 2 and 3. This addition was a
covered entranceway, wheelchair ramp on the right side, and stairs centrally placed in the front of the building. In the peak of the entranceway there is a small wooden cross.
This church has for some time been supplied by the minister of the Gaspereau, White Rock, and Wall Brook Baptist Church pastorate, but is not affiliated with this pastorate (2021).
Information provided by the church and Churches of Kings County Nova Scotia
Files
Collection
Citation
“Forest Hill United Baptist Church,” Atlantic Baptist Built Heritage Project , accessed May 16, 2024, https://atlanticbaptistheritage.omeka.net/items/show/307.