St. John's Anglican Church was built in the little settlement of Necum Teuch in 1895, being consecrated on October 20 of that year. The only mention we have found concerning St. John's in a historical vein was in a Halifax County heritage application form for the little schoolhouse which stands about 80 metres directly west of the church. The school was built in 1886 to replace the previous one which had burned in 1886. The new school was opened in January of 1887. Prior to the construction of St. John's the school was the site of Church of England (Anglican) church services. Later, when the school closed, the building was deeded to the church as a church and community hall.
The church itself stands along a short side road off Highway 7 named Necum Teuch Loop, its address being 40 Necum Teuch Loop. Carpenter Gothic would likely be an accurate description of the building, the nave a fairly simple rectangle with an equally simple bell tower/steeple at one corner, serving as entrance. A chancel or vestry extends out the rear of the nave, while a gabled entrance extends from the side of the chancel/vestry. The square bell tower yields to an octagonal steeple which is stepped in considerably from the sides of the tower below. Atop the steeple is a conical spire, completely wrapped in sheet metal, with a ball finial and a (broken) cross above. The entrance is served by a double wooden door. The building is a bright white with most of the trim and detailing painted black in contrast.
We believe that the church still holds services, but corroboration of that estimate isn't forthcoming.
Surrounding the church is the Anglican cemetery, doubtless the only one in Necum Teuch and at least 65 years older than the church.
Find A Grave lists 326 headstones in the cemetery, which seems to us an accurate assessment. The earliest dated stone predates even the school by more than five decades, that of Alexander Fraser Jr., born 1796, died Feb. 14, 1830. Still in use today, the cemetery holds many newer headstones, not to mention the many nineteenth century stones. We noticed the absence of headstones for some of the pioneer settlers, John Smith Sr. and his son Jacob, among others.
On Dec. 29, 1955, a special meeting was held with the ratepayers of School Section #35 in the Necum Teuch School. The purpose of the meeting was to make a decision to see if the school should be given to the community to be used as a community centre. Then in 1959, Book 1643 Pg. 74 the deed states that the property was to be given to the Anglican Church of Canada to be used as a place for the community to use as a hall. Standing not far from the schoolhouse is St. John Baptist[sic] Church of England that was consecrated on Oct. 20, 1895. Prior to the church being built church services were held in the nearby schoolhouse. Surrounding the church are the headstones of many former inhabitants who have left their mark on the small community. The community was originally named for the Smith family as they were one of the first families to settle in the area. In some documents, the Necum Teuch community, is referred to as Smith's Cove.
From Halifax County
NECUM TEUCH: Halifax County
This settlement is located about sixteen miles north-east of Sheet Harbour. The name is probably a corrupted version of the Indian name Noogoomkeak. "soft sand place". Variations of the name went: Nekum Tough. Nicumteau. Necum Tach. Nicamtau. etc. John Smith, Sr. purchased 900 acres of land here in 1803 from John George Dunn and immediately settled thereon. His sons, John, George, and Jacob received grants of land here in 1824. In 1827 there were eight families here.
Mr. Burnett was schoolmaster in two school-houses in this district in July. 1843.
A Postal Way Office was established in 1855. Fishing and limited farming are the basic industries. The population in 1956 was 98.
From the Nova Scotia Archives