Description of Historic Place

The Plot is the site of the first church in Branch which stood near the community’s waterfront. It is commonly known as the Plot, however, a monument now marks the church’s former spot, about thirty metres from the waterfront, so that the site is also sometimes referred to as The Monument. The municipal heritage designation includes the monument and the area encompassing the footprint of the monument itself, plus one metre in each direction out from the monument.

Heritage Value

The Plot has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Branch because of its historic and aesthetic values.

The Plot has historic value for its commemorative function. The Church of St. Joseph was a small building erected by the local Roman Catholic community, and the monument at The Plot marks the site where it stood from about 1848 to 1908. This was the first church at Branch, and purportedly the first one in the Cape Shore region.

The monument at The Plot features a Crucifixion scene in white painted iron, raised on a concrete platform. The religious theme of the monument is in keeping with the fact that it marks the site of a former Catholic church. The Plot has aesthetic value because its monument comprises a distinctive feature in Branch’s cultural landscape.

Source: Town of Branch Regular Council Meeting November 24, 2008.

Character-Defining Elements

Those elements which contribute to the site’s historic and aesthetic value including:

-location on former church site;
-and the design and religious theme of the monument.