Though the church was organized in 1857 (or so), the present St. Peter's wasn't built until 1905. The first St. Peter's, built in 1860, was torn down when the present one went up. Quite a large church, it bespeaks the size of the town of Sheet Harbour, one of the larger towns along the eastern shore north of Halifax.
Rectangular in plan, except for a multi-sided chancel and a vestry at the rear, the nave was given six Roman arched windows down each side, with two more in the tower, one above the other, and a further two to the sides of the tower. The bell tower itself is quite large and centred in the façade, serving as the entrance. At its base are double wood doors with a semicircular transom with glass fill. The square tower is set well into the gable end of the roof and has an eave just above the roof's peak and a matching one at the top of the belfry. Atop the belfry is an eight sided spire, not terribly tall, with the obligatory cross atop.
The interior of the church is nicely finished, with vaulted ceiling and individual vaults over each window melding onto the main ceiling. At the end of the nave is a circular arch over the chancel, while over the front of the balcony at the front end of the nave is a large banner proclaiming the sesquicentennial of the parish, which occurred in 2007.
On the north side of the church is the parish rectory, while stretching out to the south is
St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery. By now quite large, it holds around 450 burials, dating from 1860 (Infant Martin Glawson, who died December 26, 1860, at the age of 3 months) to the present.
SHEET HARBOUR. Halifax County
This community is seventy miles east of Dartmouth. The Indian name was Weijooik. "flowing wildly" or "running crazily". The Harbour was called Port North as late as 1807. By 1818 the name 'Sheet Harbour" had come into use, given because of a large white cliff at the harbour entrance which appeared like a sheet spread out to dry. The settlement was called Campbelltown for a time, probably in honour of Lord William Campbell who was captain General and Governor-in-Chief, 1766-1773. "Manchester" was also applied to the settlement. Most of the land was granted in 1773 and 1784, but settlement was begun about 1784 by veterans and refugees of the American Revolutionary War. By 1818 the population was 156.
A church was erected soon after the founding of the settlement. By 1815 this building was already decaying and the people began to build a new one. Work on it ceased, however, when the owner of the land threatened to burn the structure. A new church was built here by 1837. The cornerstone of the Anglican Church of St. Michael and All Angels was laid on May 21, 1950. and the church was at that time opened for services.
St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was erected at Quillans Point in 1856. Another church was built in the community about 1860. The new St. Peter's Church was built about 1905 and the old church was torn down. A new Methodist church was opened and dedicated on November 7, 1880. A Presbyterian meeting house was erected about 1833-34 on Church Point. The new St. James Presbyterian,later United Church, was erected in 1871-72. The new United Church Hall and Community Centre was under construction in May, 1955.
From the Nova Scotia Archives