That's not to say, however, that it will hold no more services. There are indications that it will still be used for special services, such as Christmas, and possibly Easter, services. Further, there are indications that the church may be repurposed as a funeral chapel. At present, while the exterior is in quite good condition, the interior, though not substantially degraded, is slowly being renovated.
Land for the church and cemetery was purchased by the Presbyterians in 1853, with the church being completed by August 4, 1854. Its age helps to explain the meeting house style of the building, as does the fact that South Maitland, at that time known as Rockville, has always been a very small community which could ill afford a large, fancy church with a majestic steeple reaching toward the heavens. The low arched window lintels and the sunrise patterned transom and window in the front elevation are also emblematic of the era. An interesting aspect of the building is that it rests on a brick foundation which, in turn, rests on a fieldstone foundation.
The church remained Presbyterian until 1925 when, with
Church Union in Canada, the congregation voted to join the United Church of Canada.
Find A Grave lists just 81 interments in the cemetery, the earliest of which was one Grace Dow, born in 1788, who died January 13, 1862. This is in line with the estimated date of establishment of the church and, we assume, the cemetery. To our knowledge the cemetery remains in use by the citizens of South Maitland, the most recent listed burials taking place in 2014. Our estimate of the number of graves, not even allowing for unmarked graves, would be closer to triple that of Find a Grave's.
SOUTH MAITLAND, Hants County
A Presbyterian church was begun 1811 and completed in 1819. A new church, which became St. David's United Church, was built in 1858.
Land was purchased for a Presbyterian church in August, 1853 six miles above Maitland Village, probably at Rockville (South Maitland). This church was built by August 4, 1854. A Baptist meeting house was built about 1865. A Methodist church was opened in June 1877.
John Ruggles was the schoolmaster at "Mouth of the River" beginning April 9, 1815. William Putnam constructed a hall during his lifetime which was used for school purposes. By 1817 a schoolhousese had been "provided for". A new school was constructed in 1867 to replace a building which had burned down in 1865. A new schoolhouse was opened November 11, 1878. A new eight room Maitland district school was built in 1962.
A Postal Way Office was established in 1832 which became a Post Office in 1853. In 1846 a Post Office was built and Adam Roy put in charge as postmaster.
From the Nova Scotia Archives