Description of Historic Place

The Nassagaweya Church is located at 3097 15 Sideroad on the north side of 15 Sideroad, east of Guelph Line, in the Town of Milton. The one-and-a-half storey stone church was constructed in 1861.

The property was designated, by the Town of Milton, in 2003, for its heritage value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, By-law 28-2003.

Heritage Value

The Nassagaweya Church is located on the site of the first Presbyterian Church in Nassagaweya. The congregation itself was founded in June 1836, but it was not until 1839 that the land on which the church stands was donated by Dougall McNair. A small frame church was erected and in 1840 Reverend William Meldrum was inducted as minister for both the Nassagaweya congregation and the congregation of Duff's Church, in nearby Puslinch. Rev. Meldrum faithfully served both the congregations for fourteen years. Rev. Andrew McAuley was inducted into the Nassagaweya congregation in March 1854. It was during his term that the current Nassagaweya Church was built.

The Nassagaweya Church reflects a vernacular Georgian style. The window arrangement has four windows organized in a step pattern around the main entrance and centred on a carved date stone located above the doors. The main entrance consists of double doors and a transom set in a heavily moulded wood frame and capped with a simple wood architrave.

The church displays a high degree of craftsmanship due to the contribution of stone masons Samuel Donaldson, Robert Lamb, William McLaughlin and architect and carpenter Neil Livingstone, of Guelph. The walls were constructed using roughly squared local stone in a broken course pattern which is emphasized by the use of beaded mortar joints. The stonework at the building corners and around openings was tooled and squared.

Sources: Town of Milton By-law 28-2003; History of Nassagaweya Presbyterian Church.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Nassagaweya Church include its:
- date stone
- one-and-a-half storey local stone exterior
- gable roof
- stepped pattern of windows surrounding the main entrance
- double doors with heavily moulded wood trim
- transom
- wooden architrave
- white ash pews in the sanctuary
- beaded mortar joints
- tooled and squared stone corners and masonry openings