From the archives
Calendar profiles historic Colchester churches
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, Colchester Capsule recounts stories, names and nuggets that appeared decades ago on the pages of the Chronicle Herald and the Central Nova Scotia Bulletin.
The publication of a 1987 calendar featuring historic churches in Colchester County has been heralded as a major step toward documenting and preserving the wealth of early architecture in the county.
Truro historian Charlotte MacQuarrie, who began researching the calendar’s contents in January 1986, said much of the invaluable information contained in the picturesque publication was obtained from local research projects that were funded by the culture department’s heritage unit.
The church calendar is a project of the Cobequid Arts Council, which last year published a similar historical calendar on Victorian homes in Truro.
MacQuarrie said the annual council projects are undoubtedly of benefit to the Colchester Historical Museum, which continues a study of local churches.
“Through the museum, I have a grant to research for documentation the history of pre-1914 Colchester County churches.”
That account will include architectural and historical descriptions.
The county’s early settlers “were almost purely Presbyterian,” said MacQuarrie, who was assisted by Helen Beveridge in preparing the editorial content for the church calendar.
“Other denominations came in as time went on,” such as Roman Catholic, Baptist and Anglican.
MacQuarrie said it was difficult to select 12 churches while trying to be as representative as possible of all Colchester County churches.
The buildings, all photographed in the calendar, were chosen for historical and architectural distinction. Most are late 19th century churches, which in some cases are the second or third church building of those congregations. The styles of churches range from the simple meeting-house structures through to the evolution of the Gothic styles with arc windows and the Victorian period buildings.
More recent styles included are the Georgian-type First United Church and the modern architecture of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church.
For the calendar, Tony Toole photographed the churches and the design work was done by Janet Kirby and Jennifer Ritacco of VisComm Seven Graphics.
MacQuarrie also credited the contributions of 16 local businesses that sponsored the calendar pages.
Two thousand copies were printed and the calendars sold for $5.95 each through community and church groups and businesses.