The Presbyterian congregation was organized in the Springbrook area in 1810, constructing their first church, a log building, at nearby Yankee Hill at about this time. The meeting house style Geddie Memorial Church replaced that building in 1836. Originally known as Anderson's Church, after the donor of the land on which the church stands, it was later renamed in honour of
Reverend John Geddie (1815-1872). Scottish born and Nova Scotia raised, Geddie was ordained and inducted into the pastoral charge of Cavendish and New London at Geddie Memorial Church in March of 1838.
Reverend Geddie pioneered missionary work in the New Hebrides islands, now known as Vanuatu, and became known as "
the father of Presbyterian missions in the South Seas". He managed to convert essentially the entire population before dying on the islands on December 14, 1872. Reverend Geddie had been the first missionary sent out by the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
On the south side of the church, standing side by side, are a pair of war memorials, dedicated to the local war dead and veterans of the First and Second World Wars. This First World War memorial consists of a tall granite and marble obelisk, four sides of the centre section of which contain the names of the fallen. The memorial was dedicated on July 8, 1920 by local communities. Above the names of the fallen is the inscription:
BUILT OF A PEOPLE'S LOVE
TO THE MEMORY OF OUR GLORIOUS DEAD
Below is the inscription:
"AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN
AND IN THE MORNING
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
1914 - 1918