Present a picture of the Anglican, Lutheran and United churches, perched on the edge of the Atlantic, to most anyone across the continent and, more often than not, the scene will be recognized instantly as that beautiful little town in Nova Scotia - Mahone Bay.

 But the story of religious development in the community does not begin with the three churches of Edgewater Street.

 When Mahone Bay was first settled by foreign Protestants in 1754, for several years the tiny community went without a formalized church. Worship was practiced either in neighbouring communities or local halls, or simply in one's own humble home. But, by the 1830s, some 80 years after the area was first settled, that began to change.

 The first church constructed in Mahone Bay was a multi-denominational union building, known as the Union and Harmony Church. Its trustees represented the Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist elements within Mahone Bay and, beginning in the 1830s, the church served its members quite well.

 Within a few years, however, the demand for the building had surpassed its modest size and the Union and Harmony Church retreated from public use and became a private dwelling.

 Notably absent from the trustees of the Union and Harmony Church was Mahone Bay's Anglican population.

 Striking out on their own, construction of the first Anglican church in Mahone Bay began in 1833, around the same time as the Union and Harmony Church, on the hill above the community's burial grounds on land donated by William Kedy. The church was consecrated in 1835 and used for more than four decades as the site of Anglican worship within the town.

 Eventually, the building was deemed too small and worn, and was targeted for replacement. The old church, which had been known as St. James', was sold for $40 and the land on which it stood was eventually broken up and sold as burial plots.

 The new St. James' was designed by well-known Halifax architect William Critchlow Harris, who also happened to be the brother of Rev. Edward A. Harris, who served at St. James'. By 1887, after months of work, the construction of William's high-Victorian Gothic-style church, including buttressed walls and a massive multi-coloured steeple to serve as a beacon to merchants entering the harbour, was complete.

 Rev. J.C. Cochran, who was the rector of Lunenburg in 1887, gave the first sermon at the new St. James', which had been built from the ground up at a cost of just $8,000.

 Meanwhile, in 1884, Rev. Harris assumed the role of curate of St. James' Anglican Church. By 1889, with the new waterfront church securely in place as the focal point of Anglican worship in town, he took over the position of rector from Rev. W.H. Snyder, who had held the post since 1852.

 By 1921, Rev. Harris was named a canon on the Anglican Church and he would, ultimately, serve out his entire ministry with the St. James' parish. Having acted as a pillar for not only his congregation, but for the entire community, Rev. Harris is still remembered fondly today, and his diaries and letters shed insights into what life was like in Mahone Bay over 100 years ago.

 St. James', however, was the last of the famous three churches to establish itself at the edge of Mahone Bay harbour.

 The honour of being first fell to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was constructed in 1869. In 1903, thanks to an expanding congregation, the building underwent a major renovation, which saw wings added to both sides of the building and stained glass windows placed in the chancel.

 Modifications were also made to the building's architecture to permit the installation of a pipe organ and a large bell in the tower of the steeple.

 The converging tale of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Mahone Bay is an intriguing one. First, one should bear in mind that the formation of the United Church of Canada occurred in 1925. Prior to that, Mahone Bay's Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists had each pursued their own place of worship.

 The first Methodist church was built in 1874 on Third Street, today known as Maple Street. The first ministers to preach in the community's Methodist church were Rev.s C. Lockhart and A.C. Borden.

 The Presbyterian church had been constructed 13 years earlier, in 1861, on top of the hill overlooking the Old Burying Ground at Mush-a-Mush. The building was, effectively, back to back with the old St. James' Anglican Church, making for a rather unusual site on the hillside overlooking the town.

 In 1885, however, opting for a new location, but wanting to keep their house of worship intact, the Presbyterian church was raised two feet by a series of heavy jack screws and crib work, placed on rollers, and hauled by a horse team from its former position to a section of land flanking the Lutheran church.

 Each roller that fell out the back end beneath the church was immediately replaced again at the front so as to ensure a steady procession to the new site.

 During the move, Rev. D.S. Fraser is purported to have stayed up all night praying that a passing storm would do no harm to the church, which, having been removed from its foundation, was in a precarious position to say the least.

 Rev. Fraser's prayers were answered when, after a 10-day move, the Presbyterian church came to a rest upon its new foundation along the edge of the harbour.

 In total, moving the church cost $800 and there was an additional burden of $250 for the cost of a new foundation.

 Years later, after suffering severe damage during a storm, the weathered steeple of the church was removed for safety reasons, creating the waterfront skyline which dominates Mahone Bay today.

 Once the Methodists and Presbyterians united in 1925, it was decided that services would be held at the more spacious hall along Mahone Bay's waterfront.

 The old Methodist property on Third Street was used as a gathering point for public meetings, plays and small concerts for many years until it fell into a state of disrepair and was torn down.

 Even after the merger of churches, some devout congregational members protested the move and, striking out on their own, constructed their own houses of worship.

 In Mahone Bay, this initiative was spearheaded by T.G. Nicol, who gave $10,000 of his own money for the construction of a church on property along Main Street near the centre of town. The church, which still stands today, became known as the Knox Presbyterian Church and its first pastor was Rev. D.W. McDonald.

 After the Union and Harmony Church had ceased to serve the community, the Baptists in Mahone Bay also struck out on their own and, by 1875, had constructed their own house of worship located on Third Street, just down the road from the site of the old Methodist church.

 By 1899, W.B. Bezanson was minister at the church, having been preceded by a number of visiting pastors. He would serve until 1903.

 In 1911, thanks to a spirited effort by the congregation, a Sunday school building was added to the existing church. The new building included a stage with an intricately painted background scene crafted by Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Langille.

 Today, the Town of Mahone Bay has five active churches - just as it did more than half a century ago - all with healthy congregations.

 The tale of how those churches came to be is reflective of the positive spirit within the town as a whole, for not only did entrepreneurial and brave congregations assert themselves as strong and independent, but they also demonstrated how they were willing to work, share and co-exist with other denominations as well.

 Just as the brilliant colour of the Anglican church's steeple along the waterfront serves as a beacon to sailors, the history of the churches of Mahone Bay, those on Edgewater Street and beyond, should serve as a shining example of co-operation and tolerance for others.

 Sources: "Dear Old Mahone," Mahone Bay Settlers Museum; "History of the County of Lunenburg," Mather DesBrisay; "Place Names and Places of Nova Scotia," Public Archives of Nova Scotia.

Written and researched by Patrick Hirtle.