Description of Historic Place

St. Paul’s United Church is a tall, gray concrete block Gothic Revival building with a steeply-pitched gable roof, attached wings and a belfry located on Saunders Road at the corner of Lake Avenue.

Heritage Value

St. Paul’s United Church is designated a Local Historic Place for being originally a Union Church built in 1920. It was a much-needed larger replacement to the then existing Union Church, which was the first church building in McAdam. It was the meeting place of four different protestant denominations up until three combined into the United Church of Canada in 1925 and the Baptist built their own church building in 1926. It became known at that time as St. Paul’s United Church of Canada. The stonemason was Archie MacDonald, who also built the McAdam Canadian Pacific Railway Station, both a National and Provincial Historic Site. The President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Mr. Grant Hall, laid the cornerstone. The church represented the growing affluence and stability of the ever growing industrial community of McAdam Junction.

Source: McAdam Village Office, Historic Places File “St. Paul’s United Church”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe St. Paul’s United Church include:
- rectangular one-and-a-half storey massing with transept wings;
- gray cast concrete exterior cladding;
- buttresses located on all sides;
- steeply pitched gable roof;
- gothic arch stained-glass windows on the front and rear façades and numerous stained-glass windows on each side façade;
- veneered concrete block entrance and office wing with a belfry.

The character-defining elements relating to the interior include:
- beautifully crafted Douglas fir tongue and groove wainscoting;
- vaulted ceiling;
- hand plastered and textured interior walls;
- ornate curved oak pews;
- continued use of the basement for many community activities since its inception.