St. John’s Anglican Church National Historic Site
© Parks Canada, Judith Dufresnes
St. John’s Anglican Church was designated as a national historic site in 2026.
Historical importance: in the Revolutionary era and the period of Napoleonic Wars, this church built in the British classical style according to the Wren-Gibbsian model speaks to Anglican influence on Planters religious expression and defines the emerging society of the newly British colony.
Commemorative plaque: no plaque installedFootnote 1
St. John’s Anglican Church
Built between 1804 and 1812, St. John’s Anglican Church is located in Port Williams, Nova Scotia, and is associated with the arrival of settlers from New England, called the “Planters,” after 1760. This small vernacular wooden parish church, built in the British classical style according to the Wren-Gibbsian model, reflects the architectural tastes of Bishop Charles Inglis and his efforts to spread Anglicanism in his diocese by building churches. Its elaborate spire, separate choir attached to the main building, and Palladian window are typical features of Inglis era churches. The church and its typical rural cemetery are remarkably well preserved.
Beginning in 1760, some 8,000 English-speaking Protestants from New England – called the Planters – settled in the British colony of Nova Scotia, in Mi’kma’ki. The Planters constituted the first significant wave of English-speaking migrants to the area that would become Canada. This migration brought together New England farmers, fishers, merchants, their families, their servants, and the enslaved persons of African descent who were forced to accompany them. It took place soon after the Deportation of the Acadians and contributed to British colonial policies aimed at repopulating and reshaping the colony of Nova Scotia, reinforcing the British claim on Mi’kma’ki, the Indigenous lands that had been violently contested for more than a century. In 1760, the New England Planters sought and obtained a royal warrant from King George III to form a Church of England parish in Cornwallis Township in order to take possession of the land after the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755.
© Parks Canada, Judith Dufresnes
After the new Anglican Parish of Cornwallis was established, the first St. John’s Anglican Church was built around 1770. It was one of the few dedicated churches in Nova Scotia before the Church of England created the Diocese of Nova Scotia in 1787. This was the first Anglican diocese in Nova Scotia, and it included the Parish of Cornwallis. Due to a lack of space, a new site two kilometres from the first church was chosen in 1802 to build a larger church. This church was designed by Colonel John Burbidge and built at a total cost of $10,000 between 1804 and 1812.
The church speaks to Anglican influence on Planter religious expression. Its prominence and longevity indicate the successful efforts of the British colonial elite and government to establish an Anglican diocese among the many active and popular New England Protestant sects of the Planters in Nova Scotia. In the Revolutionary era and the period of Napoleonic Wars, which saw Nova Scotia in direct conflict with the New England states, this multifaceted and highly active religious culture defined the emerging society of the newly British colony.
© Parks Canada, Judith Dufresnes
© Parks Canada, Judith Dufresnes
St. John’s has remained active and is one of the oldest Anglican churches continually open for worship in Nova Scotia. It still stands on the original land of 1760 that was ceded to the parish by the Governor of Nova Scotia. Both St. John’s Anglican churches were established through the efforts of prominent Halifax men and elite Planter families.
“The nomination of St. John’s Anglican Church, one of the oldest continuously operating Anglican churches in Nova Scotia, as a national historic site has been a work in progress by me for ten years. My family has been associated with St. John’s since it opened for services on Christmas Day in 1810 and as a sixth-generation family member, I am honoured to know that my family’s church is now designated as a national historic site. This designation is a lasting tribute to the New England Planters, who established St. John’s in my community following receipt of the Royal Mandate from King George III in 1760."
This press backgrounder was prepared at the time of the Ministerial announcement in 2026.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
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