Old Meeting House, Barrington

Located in the community of Barrington on Nova Scotia's southwestern coastline, the Old Meeting House is a two-storey wood framed structure with a steeply pitched gable roof and central entrance. The Old Meeting House was erected in the 1770s and is surrounded by a cemetery that dates to the same era. This building has been a Provincial Heritage Property since 2004.

The Old Meeting House is valued as one of the oldest non-conformist houses of worship in Canada and as an excellent example of an early New England style meeting house. It is the sole survivor of five such Congregationalist church buildings built in Nova Scotia and is also still in use today.

The English settlement of Barrington began circa 1761 when a group of fishermen from Cape Cod and Nantucket brought their families to the area to establish a community. Following the New England tradition of townships, the settlers founded their own civil government. They were without any permanent clergy and no one denomination was large enough to afford the construction of their own church. Beginning circa 1765 funds began to be raised via share holding to build a meeting house for both religious and civic gatherings.

The history of the building itself is somewhat unclear. Construction began circa 1771 and meetings were held at the site beginning at that time. Progress in making the building weather tight was slow; however, the building was in regular use in the eighteenth century. The pews and interior finishes were not completed until 1841.

In November 1776 the first formal religious service was held at the Old Meeting House under the leadership of Reverend Samuel Wood. In 1780, Henry Alline of the New Lights laid the foundation for the Baptist movement in the area. Similarly, Freeborn Garretson introduced Methodism to this area in 1786.

Aside from Methodists and Baptists, the Old Meeting House was also used by Presbyterians and Anglicans. Over time, however, individual congregations erected their own church buildings and a courthouse had been erected across the street in 1841. Use of the building dwindled and it fell into disrepair. In the latter half of the twentieth century a local group rallied to save the building, and it eventually became part of the Nova Scotia Museum and is now open seasonally to the public.

A small graveyard surrounds the building, dating from the first English settlers. The earliest stone dates from 1766, that of Lettice Doane who died in childbirth. Together the graveyard and meeting house provide a tangible connection to the establishment of the community.

Information provided by Historic Places Canada.