Description of Historic Place

First United Church is a Georgian Revival style, two storey brick building with sandstone trim and decorative elements. Built between 1914 and 1916, the church is a landmark in the center of Truro, Nova Scotia, with its one-hundred-and-forty-three foot tall spire. Both the building and its surrounding property are included in the designation.

Heritage Value

First United Church is valued as a prominent architectural landmark in Truro, Nova Scotia. Built between 1914 and 1916, the church is a Georgian style brick building with sandstone trim and decorative elements. The one-hundred-and-forty-three foot, copper covered spire locates the church within the town. The church also has a heavy pediment with dentils, a round window above the main entrance, an elaborate doorway with a broken pediment and quoining around the building. The church is surrounded in the front and on either side by its original open green spaces, which has been slowly depleted in Truro with new construction.

First United Church is also valued because of its historical association with the development of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The history of the congregation of First United Church can be traced to the settlement of Scottish-Irish Presbyterians in the area in 1761. The first Presbyterian meetinghouse in Truro was built in 1767 on the site of what is now Robie Street cemetery. The congregation was known as First Presbyterian and became the First Presbyterian Presbytery in 1786. In 1817 the First Canadian Synod in Canada was held in the meetinghouse. A new frame structure was erected in 1854 on the current location of the First United Church. It was destroyed by fire in 1913 and replaced with the new brick structure. First United Church was a reflection of the amalgamation of the congregations of First Presbyterian and St. Paul’s Presbyterian and in 1925 First Presbyterian joined the United Church of Canada. Truro has long prided itself as being the heart of the oldest Presbyterian Synod in the Maritime Provinces.

Source: Notice of Registration of Property as a Provincial Heritage Property, Provincial Property Heritage File no. 237.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the First United church include:

- copper-covered spire, surmounted by a golden ball;
- original open spaces, including mature trees at the front and sides of the church.

Character-defining elements of the Georgian style of the First United Church include:

- quoining at the edges of the church;
- round-headed windows with double set back arched lintels with keystones;
- heavy pediments with dentils;
- round window above the entrance;
- elaborate doorway with broken pediment.