First Cambridge United Baptist Church

This church’s first building was a meeting house that was completed on January 2, 1840. It was only used for 27 years and was soon considered old fashioned. The church was built 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.

On March 5, 1866, a group met to consider building a new church. C. H. Wetmore was given the contract to build the church, which is still standing at present (2022). This building was completed January 4, 1867, at a cost of roughly $1000. This church was built in the Meeting House style as well. The structure has Gothic Revival architectural embellishments, including four gothic windows on either side. This style and size of church is typical for its time for rural Atlantic Canada. The interior of the church is rather plain and consists primarily of the sanctuary space.

Since the church has been built, there have been many renovations and improvements done including a new basement and bigger entranceway built around 1976. With the addition to the front façade of the structure, the exterior style changed and many of the original architectural embellishments have been either covered up or removed.

Information from First Cambridge United Baptist Church MacDonald’s Corner 1989: 164 Years of Church Fellowship /  160th Anniversary of the First Meeting House.