Description of Historic Place

The Mitchell Island Union Church is located on the southwest shore of the northwest arm of Sydney Harbour, in Point Edward, Nova Scotia. It is a small white church located by the side of the road, on a small island that is connected to the mainland by a road. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality designated the church, graveyard and land a municipal heritage property.

Heritage Value

The Mitchell Island Church is valued for its role in the community, for its simple architecture, and for its associations with the history of the area.

The church was constructed circa 1866 to support the religious activities of the several small communities in the area. Although a preacher of any denomination could use the church, it was a "preaching station" for the North Sydney Calvary Baptist Church and services were held every second Sunday afternoon and annual harvest services. The church can seat eighty people. It is a simple wooden structure, consisting of one main room and two small vestibule areas, which currently serve as furnace and coat rooms. Presently the church is used only for weddings and funerals.

The building is located on a small island that is named after a sailor who washed ashore here and who is buried in the graveyard. Currently the island is experiencing an erosion problem which is affecting the future of the site.

Source: Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Municipal Heritage Files, Mitchell Island Church

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Mitchell Island Church include:

- simple form and massing;
- central tower;
- gable roof;
- location on an island;
- wooden main door;
- cemetery with historical markers surrounding church;
- low-lying fence enclosing family plot within cemetery.