The Church was built in the summer of 1875 on a piece of land overlooking the port and near the the Caraquet public wharf which was sold by Robert Young to the first trustees of the church for the symbolic sum of $1.00. The Church is designated a Local Historic Place for its age and status as the only Protestant church in the municipality of Caraquet. In the early 1970's the United Church of Canad
a ceased using the Church as a preaching point with regular church services. Since then the Church has hosted only a few weddings and funerals and informal gatherings. Maintenance and upkeep of the Church building and the adjacent grounds including the graveyard has for many years been provided by volunteers. Young of Bathurst, the late Walter Young of Caraquet and Walter's brother, Fred Young of Caraquet were largely responsible for providing these invaluable services and generally in seeing to the preservation of the Church and in raising funds to assist with the costs of doing so. In 2009 a not-for- profit corporation, Caraquet Protestant Heritage Church, Inc. (the "Corporation")was created for the purpose of acquiring the Church property from the United Church of Canada and to ensure the future and continued maintenance of the Church building and Property. The current directors of the corporation are Bernard J. Theriault of Caraquet, NB (email: [email protected]), Roger F. Young of Rothesay, NB, (email: [email protected]), Aline Landry of Caraquet, NB (email:[email protected]), Caroline Walker of St. Stephen, NB (email:[email protected]) and David Duncan Young of Fredericton, NB.(email:[email protected]). The exterior of the Church building was painted by volunteers in the summer of 2022. The building urgently requires more extensive repair and restoration work. The Corporation has applied to the Province of New Brunswick under various funding programs for grant monies to assist in paying the costs of the repair and restoration work and to repurpose the Church so as to provide a venue for a broad range of social, cultural and artistic activities. The work being undertaken consists of foundation repair, window restoration, interior plaster repair and new exterior shingles, trim and painting. The funding programs will provide only some of the monies required to complete the work. Private funding will also be necessary. On May 31, 2024, the Honourable Tammy Scott-Wallace, Minister of the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture announced that financial assistance under the Community Cultural Place Program - 150th Anniversary Renovations and Re-purposing Project had been approved for an amount of $75,000 for the renovation re-purposing work being undertaken by the Church. In August 2024 the renovation work began. See the photos depicting the Church lifted off its foundation to permit foundation work to proceed. The 150th anniversary of the Church is in 2025. We hope to celebrate its history and repurposing in the summer of 2025 and invite you to connect with us and to participate in the anniversary events. Please consider a financial contribution to assist in the costs of the restoration and repurposing work. To make a contribution or a pledge please contact one of the directors of the not-for-profit corporation listed above by email or consider sending an e-transfer of your financial contribution to the Church at [email protected]. Thank you for your interest.
