First Baptist Church of Hammonds Plains was
established in 1833. The original church building was erected in 1843, located on lands
adjacent to the present facility, in the Baptist Meeting House on the
site of the Burying Ground, now known as the Hammonds
Plains Baptist Cemetery.
The Baptist Meeting House was built on the site of
the Burying Ground, both of which were made possible by a donation of of
one acre of land by Mr. Amos Melvin, in 1824. The existing building
was erected in the early 1900s in a new location, slightly removed from
the first.
First Baptist Church Hammonds Plains officially
joined the Association of Baptist churches in Nova Scotia in 1843.
According to Dorothy Bezanson Evans in her book, Hammonds
Plains the First 100 Years, the first pastor was Rev. Mr.
Richardson, who arrived in Hammonds Plains in 1828. She asserts that the
Baptist church probably began around that time, and prior to the
construction of the meeting house, services were held in private homes
throughout the community.
The church became affiliated with the United
Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces. The Convention was renamed
the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches in 2001. While the original
church signage still shows the name as the First United Baptist Church,
the church Constitution was formally amended in January 2002 to
recognize the church name as First Baptist Church of Hammonds
Plains.
The church has a long and noble history in the
community of Hammonds Plains. Most of this information is in the
archives in the library at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS. Click
here for a list of documents available via WebCAT.
The church building was expanded and developed
over the years to meet the needs of a growing congregation and
community. Today it contains the sanctuary, an office, two kitchens, a
large hall and a full-size gymnasium with basketball facilities. There
is plenty of on-site parking. The facilities are available for rental
for special events and to community clubs and organizations. Contact
us for availability.
The church went through cycles of feast and
famine, resulting in a number of glorious revivals. More information
about this history is available in early church minutes, housed in the Baptist
Archives in Vaughan Library at Acadia University. The anecdotes
below are were summarized from Baptist archives by Pastor Lois McLean
(2008).
1856
In July 1856, the pastor said he would resign at the end of the year
if there was no improvement in the activities of the church. In
October, there was a strong desire for revival and special meetings
were scheduled. Twenty-seven were baptized on October 12 and several
more over the next few months.
1876
There is a gap in the church minutes from June 18, 1874 to April 1,
1876. Then "The church had been blessed for some time by the
outforcing of the Spirit of the Lord. Was made to rejoice by a number
coming forward and offering themselves to the church." There
is a list of 11 who were accepted for baptism. In May, 28 more were
baptized on one day. "In the settlement there are about 50
Protestant families, in nearly all of which some of the members have
experienced the power of Christian truth."
1928
Forty-three were baptized in "the greatest revival that
the church and community had ever experienced."