This old wood frame church is today referred to as the
Old Holy Trinity Church because, 102 years after the completion of this church, in 1893, a newer church was built closer to the centre of population. In truth, the church wasn't completely completed in 1791, as a few of the interior details and the steeple were not complete until 1797. Though the secondary church of the parish for 122 years, it has continued to hold special services to this day. Open for viewing in the summer months, the church is available for functions such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Though still unheated, it is occasionally used for functions in the non-summer months.
Deservedly a Nova Scotia Heritage Property, this church held its first services on August 14, 1791 and each year holds a special
Parish of Wilmot service for the whole community on the Sunday closest to the date of that original first service.
On the occasion of Old Holy Trinity's 225th anniversary, the Annapolis County Spectator published an article on the church, making note of some of its historical features and raising awareness of its age and uniqueness. It is, after all, the
ONLY - Unchanged Loyalist Church in North America.
Middleton church opened when
George Washington first became
US President
Lawrence Powell | Published: July 28, 2016, midnight
MIDDLETON - When they started building Old Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Middleton, George Washington had just become President of the United States. Its first service was conducted 76 years before the Confederation of Canada. And slavery was still legal north of the 49th parallel.
That’s how old Old Holy Trinity is. It was built between 1789 and 1791 making it the oldest unaltered Loyalist church in existence.
It marks its 225th anniversary on Sunday, Aug. 14 – exactly 225 years since Rev. John Wiswall officiated in the church for the first time. The special day starts at 11 a.m. with Rev. Paul Jennings of the Parish of Wilmot, and Bishop Ron Cutler of the Diocese of NS and PEI conducting the service. A reception follows.
Wiswall, the first rector, had been a priest in the Episcopal Church in Falmouth (Portland) Maine. Being with the Church of England during the American Revolution, he was known as a British sympathizer. Revolutionary forces killed his wife and two of his four sons. Wiswall and his remaining two sons were taken as prisoners of war for two years and then sent back to England.
Eventually his requests to return to North America were granted and he was brought to Nova Scotia where Bishop Inglis, the only Anglican Bishop on the continent, gave Wiswall the Parish of Wilmot. Much to Bishop Inglis’ annoyance, it took Wiswall two years to build Holy Trinity, now Old Holy Trinity Church, in Pine Grove – later to be renamed Middleton. Over the years the church has needed many repairs but basically remains unaltered from when Rev. Wiswall held his first service. The congregation has since occupied two newer Holy Trinity churches but the original was never demolished or sold.
From the Annapolis County Spectator