Former St. James United Church

The former St. James United Church, the oldest surviving building in the community of Perth-Andover, is a rectangular 1-1/2 story Neo-Classical church building in white clapboard with a central 3-story tower on the façade. It is located near the St. John River on West Riverside Drive.

The former St. James United Church is designated a Provincial Historic Site for its architecture and its social and cultural value in relation to this part of Victoria County.

Built originally as a Methodist meeting house in 1837, the former St. James United Church is noted for its architectural qualities. They are preserved as Perth-Andover’s oldest surviving building, an unpretentious example of vernacular interpretation of Neo-Classical forms. It is a small, rectangular, white-painted clapboard, wood-frame building located in the centre of the former village of Andover.

The social and cultural value of the former St. James United Church resides in its use by the community of Perth-Andover, one of the earliest settlement sites along the St. John River. The former St. James United Church has been used as a church, a community hall, a school and, since 1988, has been the home of the Southern Victoria Historical Museum. The museum celebrates the heritage of the local area through the preservation of the church itself as well as through its collection. The museum houses a collection of tools, farm implements, dishes, clothes, maps and photographs and by preserving and exhibiting the material history of the vicinity, it helps to interpret the local heritage.

The church also serves as a commemorative site marking the establishment of the First Women’s Institute of New Brunswick in 1911, by Alma Jane Porter of Andover. Her aim was to find practical means to address the needs and concerns of rural women. Her work had an impact across New Brunswick and beyond. Today, the Women's Institute of New Brunswick is part of the largest non profit women's organization in the world, the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada, with over 9 million members in 70 countries on 5 continents.

Source: Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport, Heritage Branch, Historic Site File

The character-defining elements that relate to the heritage value of the former St. James United Church include:

- small rectangular massing;

- wood frame construction;

- clapboard siding;

- front gable roof facing the street;

- pediment with a projecting central tower, with no belfry or projections;

- Neo-Gothic window motif fashioned in a trefoil design and placed on each side of the square tower;

- three-stage tower including an entrance doorway, with applied corner boards;

- cornice and pediment;

- rectangular window above with distinctive lintel;

- large trefoil window design repeated in four locations at the top of the tower;

- each side of the building featuring four rectangular windows with lintels, eaves and applied corner boards to finish the composition;

- small chancel-like addition at the back.