Halfway River Union Church

In the early years, Halfway River was associated with Parrsboro. Construction began on a meeting house in Halfway River in April 1865. This was built on land deeded to the four trustees of the Halfway River meeting house who represented the four denominations in the union: Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Anglican. The resident ministers of that time of the church’s establishment were Rev. Duncan McKinnon (Presbyterian), Rev. R. Tweedy (Methodist), Rev. M. Young (Baptist), and Rev. N.C. Custer (Anglican). These four denominations were all part of the Parrsboro charge of their respective denominations. In 1925, the Methodist and Presbyterian congregation joined due to the formation of the United Church of Canada. Baptist and United Church services were held on alternate Sundays since 1925. Anglican services were discontinued at the church sometime prior to 1925. Baptist services were discontinued in 1964.

Little could be found in terms of images of this structure. From what we can gather the Union Church at Halfway River was in the Meeting House style, a common style among Protestant congregations 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. In this case there is one doorway, giving a hint to the type of mindset the original congregation had.

The interior of this structure had two interior aisles and three rows of straight-back pews. There was a small stage that took up roughly one-third of the rear wall. The building retained many of its original architectural embellishments and features until the very end.

Information provided by Southampton United Pastoral Charge.