Ross Corner United Baptist Church

Built in 1908, southwest of the intersection of the road to Chipman Brook and the Pat Coleman (now Hiltz) Road, this church building was dedicated in September of that year. It was in the meeting house style, a common style among Baptists in early to mid nineteenth 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 church has a centrally placed doorway, with a central aisle and pews on either side. A pulpit was located on a raised platform, a pump organ in the front east corner and a wood stove located in the center of the room for heating, typical of small country churches. Only one or two services were held here a month. Some early members would travel by horse and wagon up Rhodes Mountain to attend church. It was a sister church to Billtown and Woodville Baptist Churches. It closed in 1959 and was used to store hay and straw for many years. After slowly deteriorating, it fell before 2013. The unmarked graves of two Ruggles children are located behind the former building.

This church was typical for its time in terms of style and is an early example of Gothic Revival style influenced architecture with straight point gothic windows. Early examples of Gothic revival architecture have this type of straight pointed window, with later examples usually having a more rounded curve and point. One of the most eye-catching features is the three-bay front façade on the gable end, with hooded mouldings above the door and windows. Another notable feature was how this building was about as wide as it was long, and only contained two pointed windows on either side.

Information provided by Nelson Labor and Linda Hart, Kings County Churches, Kentville: Kings Historical Society, 2014.