Pleasant Valley Baptist Church

  Pleasant Valley Church History

Our church at the Pleasant Valley corner was known as the Third Yarmouth United Baptist Church and was built to serve a congregation organized on April 26, 1843, in the village of Carlton. There were 22 charter members whose membership in the new body was transferred from earlier associations of Tusket, Argyle, and Second Yarmouth, (Hebron) a church that had included all the settlements north and  east of Hebron. There was a strong representation of ministers at  the organizational function with Rev .William Burton, a native of Margaree, presiding over the meeting .  Rev. A.V. Dimock, a son of the denominational father, Rev. Joseph Dimock, was the clerk; Rev.Wellington Jackson was present with Lic. Samuel Martin Randell, who was ordained pastor of the Third Yarmouth Church in the following year. The first officers of the congregation were its deacon, Daniel Raymond and the clerk, John Burns. On May 31,1843 Rufus Symonds and John Burns were also named deacons. At the same time an organization called the Pleasant Valley Religious Congregation met in the village  and secured land for the church having part of it set aside for a burying ground. Land for the church and cemetery was deeded to the church by Thomas Goudey and George Nickerson and held in trust by a board of trustees. The "Meeting House" was built about 1853 and followed the pattern of other Baptist churches in the area (known as Greek revival style). The new church building was dedicated on March 11,1855. The church was originally built with a tall steeple. A few years later the steeple was struck by lighting and never rebuilt. The church property was incorporated in 1890. The inside of the church was renovated and a new lowered ceiling,was put up in 1941,and electrical lights were added in 1947. In 1954 a basement was put under the building creating more meeting room and classrooms. In 1988 another renovation and addition on the south side added more Sunday School classrooms to the basement, more room in the sanctuary, new pews and the pulpit and choir loft were moved from the west end of the building to the south side. In 2000, another renovation expanded the sanctuary to the north with a much larger and inviting "meeting and greeting" area and a new entry way on the front. The basement was also expanded to better accommodate social functions with more Sunday School  classrooms. In 1853 when land was obtained for the church and cemetery. plots in the burial ground were sold at an auction  Four lots in the northwest corner were to be set aside for strangers. The cemetery has been enlarged twice since with  a donation of land from Captain Loren MacKinnon in 1933, and a large expansion taken place in 1969 with land donated by Mrs. Hazel White. The first parsonage was built in 1896 across the road from the church. It was later sold about 1952 after being rented for several years as the congregation over the years could not always  afford a minister on its own. Ministers were shared with other congregations such as Lake George, Brazil Lake, North- wood, South Ohio, Carlton, and Kemptville. In 1976 the congregation was able to support its own minister and in 1978 a parsonage was built on the Durkee Road on land donated by George and Florence Tinkham. In 2002 the church name was officially changed to The Pleasant Valley Baptist Church .

History outline submitted by Marshall Moses and picture submitted by vicki ,O`neil.