Melanson Mountain Baptist Church

This structure is first shown on a map from 1928 as a schoolhouse for the local area. It was located on the east side of Melanson Mountain Road across from the intersection with Davison Street at Robinson’s Corner or Five Roads. It was still shown as a schoolhouse on a map from 1967. At sometime after 1967, the building ceased to be used as a school and became a Baptist church. It has been described as possibly being the smallest Baptist Church in Nova Scotia, and possibly all of Atlantic Canada. Alton Allen and his wife took care of the building for many years. It had a sign above the door that said, “United Baptist Church of the Good Samaritan.” It was restored in 1980 and later was destroyed by fire between 1985 and 1990.

This building was a simple one-room building with a protruding entranceway on the gable end. It is similar to Baptist churches built 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.

One of the most eye-catching features of this building is the gingerbread mouldings along the end of the building on the gable end.

This church was a Home Mission church, supplied by students from the Acadia Divinity College.

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