Kentville Baptist Church
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Historical Information
Kentville Baptist Church was organized on March 3, 1874, but a fellowship had started some 50 years before this date. Theodore Seth Harding, a Baptist minister from Wolfville, preached at the old courthouse as early as 1824. When the church was formally organized in 1874, there were 24 charter members. A church was built on this site in 1874 at a cost of $3,000, on land bought from Charles Masters for $600. Expansions to the facility were completed in 1897, 1912, and 1929. A Hammond organ was installed in 1948 and a two-storey addition, for more Sunday School space, was added in that same year. A larger church was built just east of the original one in 1960 on land bought from Ira Ritchey for $8,000; the building cost was $150,000.00. The old church building was remodeled to become the Baptist Church hall. It was used as the church hall until it was torn down in 1981 to make room for the addition of the Christian Education Center.. In a sealed box in the cornerstone of the present church are records and papers dating back to 1874. A new Hill, Norman and Beard pipe organ (from England), was purchased and installed in 1964 due to the generous donation of Viola Bishop, long-serving organist. The Christian Educ0atio Centre was built at a cost of $680,000, and has 16,750 square feet of space. This debt was paid off in less than 7 years. In 2005-2006 there were multiple enhancements to the church and CE Centre, including extension of the sanctuary stage, installation of a multi-media system, expansion of the church foyer, relocation of church offices and library, and the installation of an elevator lift.
The 1874 building appears to have been built in the Gothic Revival arrangement with a square bell tower placed within the main structure, classified as a saddleback steeple. The church had Early English - type windows with architechural details making them appear to be pointed. The building also had Neo Classical pedimented gables and return eaves on the gable end.
The church built in 1960 is typical for its time in terms of style; it is in the mid-century modern style. It is a large brick structure with large glass panes on the front façade. The front of the building is broken into three bays, with large brick walls on either side, with an indented entranceway in the centre with glass above it and ornamental steel near the peak. This building has a steeply pitched roof, typical of churches from this timeframe.
On the left side of the church where the original, 1870’s church was, there is a small walkway and large, four-sided, standalone steeple, with a pointed metal cap, typical in terms of style and architectural detailing for its time.
Information provided by Churches of Kings County Nova Scotia and the church.
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