This little country church has its roots in the arrival of a Catholic named Balthazar Muttart around 1759. Though the family was Roman Catholic, Balthazar's son, George, converted to Wesleyan Methodism and began preaching, opening the first Wesleyan Methodist Church in Cape Traverse in 1831. When, after several decades, that church had served its purpose, the present building was erected in 1889 on land donated by yet another Muttart, Montague Muttart. While fairly pedestrian when viewed from afar, the designer added some nice Gothic styled touches, particularly around the windows, which aren't appreciated without a closer examination.
In 1925, with
Church Union in Canada, the Methodists in Canada joined the United Church and this church became the Cape Traverse United Church.
To the east side and the rear of the church is the Methodist-United Cemetery. As one moves away from the church, the headstones get newer, with very recent headstones to be found at the rear of the cemetery. It appears that the first person to be buried here was George Muttart, founder of the church. While there is no birth date on the stone, his death date appears to be June 21, 1854.
Billion Graves lists a total of 285 headstones in the cemetery, which seems to us to be fairly accurate.
History of Cape Traverse United Church
The congregation of Cape Traverse originated in the home of George Muttart, the eldest son of Balthazar Muttart. Georges' father, who had been with General Wolfe while scaling the Plains of Abraham in the capture of Quebec, was one of the earliest British settlers to arrive in Tryon around 1759.
George was brought up Roman Catholic but was converted along with his son, Charles in 1815 to Wesleyan Methodism and their home was opened to preaching and class meetings. Their desire (along with several others) to build a church was made a reality in 1831.
Over the years the little chapel was renovated and a gallery added in 1864. As the old church outgrew its usefulness, Lewis Muttart and Alexander Strang were instrumental in having the present building constructed in 1889 on the land donated by Montague Muttart and in 1890 was dedicated to the Glory of God.
From the Bedeque Pastoral Charge