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Registered Colchester Heritage Sites

These eleven sites have been registered as Municipal Heritage Properties in the County of Colchester.

Greenfield United Church of Canada
1578 Greenfield Road, Greenfield
     

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The Greenfield United Church was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on January 30th, 1997. altThe Church, erected in 1888 and dedicated in 1889 is over 120 years old. This wood frame construction building is the only Church in the community of Greenfield and was one of the original buildings in the community. It was established as a Union Church to serve both Presbyterians and Methodists on alternating Sundays and the Church became part of the United Church of Canada in 1925. A Church Cemetery is located to the side of the church.


Isgonish Marsh Burying Grounds Association 
  
Marsh Road, Belmont

altThe Isgonish Marsh Burying Grounds was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on January 30th, 1997. altIsgonish Marsh is the site of the burying grounds of the first settlers in the district of the Londonderry Township. The burying grounds are located in Belmont and the gravestones on site date from the 1790’s to the 1890’s making the Burying Grounds over 210 years old. Approximately 35 people were buried on this property. However, it is thought that there are many more unmarked graves. The gravestones include family names still common in the community such as the Crowes, Barnhills, Wilsons, Peppards and Grahams, among others.The site has been maintained as an early burial ground not as a modern cemetery. In 1987, the Isgonish Marsh Burying Grounds Association was formed to restore the site which had become run down with many broken stones and overgrown with alders, etc. 

 
Stewiacke Valley Museum
5445 Highway 289, Upper Stewiacke

altThe Stewiacke Valley Museum was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on January 30th, 1997. Located in Upper Stewiacke the Museum was built in 1886 as a community hall and remained as a hall until the 1980’s. With a wood frame construction, the building is one of the oldest in Upper Stewiacke and has been used by the community frequently for the past 100 years.

 

West New Annan United Church
1128 Warwick Mountain Road, West New Annan

altThe West New Annan United Churchalt was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property for Colchester County on February 27th, 1997. The Church was designed by Robert Ward McCombie with Gothic type construction. Built in 1890 by William Carruthers and dedicated in February of 1891, the building was originally going to be a Presbyterian Church.  A focal point of the community, the Church seats three hundred and is still actively used today.



Springside United Church
7072 Highway 289, Eastville

altThe Springside United Church was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on January 30th, 1997. altLocated in Upper Stewiacke this Church was built in 1857 by John Crockett, opened in 1858 and was dedicated in February of 1859. The plans for the Church were made by Rev. Dr. James Smith, who was a Presbyterian Minister in the Stewiacke Valley for 41 years. The building is now the oldest Church building in the Stewiacke Valley and one of the oldest Churches in the Truro Presbytery.

 

Lower Economy Hall
42 Memory Lane, Lower Economy

altThe Lower Economy Community Hall was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on October 30th, 1997. It is the last remaining heritage property in the Lower Economy Area. The Hall was built in 1895 by those in the community to serve the function of Presbyterian Hall and later a Community Hall. The hall was built of wood frame construction.


The J. M. Blaikie House (Walter A. Powell)
8 Wharf Road, Great Village

altThe J.M. Blaikie House was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on January 27th, 2000. This 3 story, 23 room Victorian house was built between 1867 and 1874 in Great Village. It has a wood frame construction and the features demonstrate details from Gothic and Queen Ann Revival periods. The exterior and interior of the house demonstrate the grand style of living in the Age of Sail in Great Village’s Heritage. 

John M. Blaikie, the builder and original owner wasalt known for his involvement in ship building. A particular ship he had an interest in, the “John M. Blaikie”, was the first of only two four-masted schooners ever built in Canada. The house now adorns the work of German artisan Peter Gottschall on the walls and floors as he lived there from 1936 to 1937. From 1957 to 1992 the house was used as a nursing home but today it is now a bed & breakfast.

Eastville Cemetery
Highway 326, Eastville

altThe Eastville Cemetery was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchesteralt County on September 28th, 2000. The Cemetery was originally a family burial ground, on part of a farm belonging to Charles Cox, which began in 1856 in Upper Stewiacke. The nearest church to the cemetery is the Springfield United Church which is another registered Municipal Heritage Property. This former family burial ground has now evolved into a community cemetery.


Eastville Schoolhouse
18 Harrison Road, Eastville

altThe Eastville Schoolhouse was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property for Colchester County on September 25th, 2003. altThe Schoolhouse was constructed in 1876 with a wood frame construction. The school is “Classic Greek Revival”, an architectural style that became popular about 1830 and continued to be widely used into the first decade of the twentieth century.  Judging by a small exposed area of wall, the building appears to be post and beam construction, a framing technique that was commonly used for many types of buildings until the latter part of the nineteenth century.  Interestingly, the school was moved 50 to 75 feet onto a concrete block foundation during the late 1940’s, about the same time roads in the area were realigned.

altThe exterior of the building remains unaltered and is original in all respects except for the steel roofing that would have replaced wooden shakes or shingles.  The exterior walls are finished with traditional cedar shingles.  The interior of the building is original, except that wall board has replaced either a plaster or wood wall surfaces and a centrally located stove has been replaced with a modern heating system. Grades one through 12 were taught at the Eastville School until 1950 when the South Colchester High School opened in Brookfield.  It is also interesting to note that the Eastville School opened in the same year that Colchester County was incorporated as a Municipality. Today, the school is used as a community hall.


Wilson Schoolhouse
909 Balmoral Road, Central New Annan

altWilson Schoolhouse was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County on September 25th, 2003. The Schoolhouse was built in 1890 with a wood frame construction by George Kennedy and Robert Wilson. The school was named after David Wilson who leased the land out for altone cent a year. Grades one through 12 were taught at the Wilson School until 1950 when the North Colchester High School opened in Tatamagouche. Grades primary to six continued to be taught at the schoolhouse until 1966 when the school closed. The building is “Classic Greek Revival”, an architectural style that became popular about 1830 and continued to be widely used into the first decade of the twentieth century. The area of Central New Annan is associated with Anna Swan Bates Canada’s famed giantess who attended school in the area for ten years. A statue of Anna Bates, erected in 1977, now sits adjacent to the Wilson school.


Intercolonial Railway Station (Train Station Inn)
21 Station Road, Tatamagouche

altThe Train Station Inn was registered as a Municipal Heritage Property in Colchester County in May, 2006. The Intercolonial Railway constructed its "Short Line" from Oxford Junction to Stellarton through Tatamagouche in 1887. The ICR commissioned the Rhodes Curry Company of Amherst to build a passenger station in the village immediately east of the creamery. The ICR was merged into the Canadian National Railways in 1918 and CN operated this line as part of its "Oxford Subdivision", servicing mainly agricultural communities, as well as the salt mines at Malagash and Pugwash as well as a quarry altin Wallace. Passenger service through Tatamagouche was discontinued in the 1960s and the station was used as an office for railway employees handling freight until 1972 when it was closed and sold in 1976. CN discontinued freight service on the line in 1986 when the Oxford Sub was abandoned; the rails were removed in 1989. Today the passenger station is a bed and breakfast with restored historic rail cars located on the property. The rail line through the village is a recreational trail, designated as part of the Trans Canada Trail and the point where the Nova Scotia portion of the trail branches south to Truro, Halifax and southwestern Nova Scotia, making Tatamagouche a good starting point for a short waterfront walk or a major biking expedition.