St. Paul's Anglican Church

St. Paul’s Anglican Church is designated a Local Historic Place for being the first church established on Grand Manan Island. Built of local logs in 1822, it burnt in 1839 - with the leader being hung in effigy on the lawn - and was rebuilt of stone in 1840. This would be just the beginning of a long and interesting history of this church. It remains the island’s only stone structure of its kind. It has our oldest birth, death, and baptism records for the island. Many residents from the whole island were buried at the Old Pioneer Cemetery associated with this church, as it was the only facility available in the early years. As other churches became established, folks were buried in their own communities.

St. Paul’s Anglican Church is also recognized for its architecture. It is a good example of small-scale rural Gothic Revival architecture in stone. This style is evident in such details as the Gothic arch openings, the central bell tower and the stone exterior highlighted by lighter-coloured stone quoins.