Provincial Registry of Heritage Property · Nova Scotia
United Baptist Church
Bear River, Digby, Nova Scotia
The record
- Designation
- Provincially registered heritage property
- Type
- church
- Year built
- 1856
- Decade built
- 1850-1859
- Cultural association
- Loyalist
- Notice of registration date
- 8 July 1992
- Civic address
- 37 Pleasant Street
- Community
- Bear River
- County
- Digby
- Province
- Nova Scotia
- Country
- Canada
- Coordinates
- 44.57482, -65.64257
- File number
- Prov_file_156
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
Roe Brothers, Atlas of the Maritime Provinces (1879) / Internet ArchiveDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
2 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1828 map "The north eastern coast, North America, New York to Cape Canso (center sheet)" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1828 · The north eastern coast, North America, New York to Cape Canso (center sheet) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1879 · County of Digby, Nova Scotia (Roe Brothers Atlas of the Maritime Provinces) (Roe Brothers, Atlas of the Maritime Provinces (1879) / Internet Archive)
The Province of Nova Scotia's Registered Heritage Properties dataset ↗
The Province's registration record
Reason for registration
its association with Bear River Baptists, since its construction in 1856, and its rare and beautifully proportioned Neo-Classical bell tower.
Character-defining elements
Character-defining elements of United Baptist Church relate to its Gothic Revival and Neo-Classical style and are:
-tiered Neo-Classical bell tower with three sections;
-details of the base section of the bell tower including inverse pilasters at corners, and a deep cornice with brackets, dentils, and other elements;
-details of the second section of the bell tower including its octagonal plan, series of pilasters, Ionic capitals in high relief, cornice with brackets and dentils, and round headed windows;
-details of the uppermost section of the bell tower including its circular plan, dentils beneath the cornice, and simple pilaster/round headed arch design forming a blind arcade running the full perimeter;
-yellow domed roof on steeple;
-decorative eaves throughout the building; and
-the church’s location and the visibility of the steeple in the surrounding area.