St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia

At St. Andrew’s we have had a wonderful history of gifted ministers:

  • Rev. Matthew Wilson July, 1842 – November 17, 1883
  • Rev. Donald McMillan 1883 – June 30, 1904
  • Rev. Hector L MacKinnon, B.D. December 8, 1903 – August 31, 1917
  • Rev. Arthur Douglas Wauchope, B.D. January 3, 1918 – November 30, 1919
  • Rev. F. Scott MacKenzie, Th. D., D.D. June 17, 1920 – September 28, 1925
  • Rev. Dr. William Orr Mulligan, October 1, 1925 – September 3, 1929
  • Rev. Quincy A. McDowell, M.A., B.Th. January 17, 1930 – September, 1940
  • Rev. F. Clark Evans June 1, 1941 – July 2, 1953
  • Rev. Douglas Wilson 1954-1962
  • Rev. Neil J. MacLean 1963-1979
  • Rev. Raymond Gillis 1979-1990
  • Rev. Ian MacLeod 1991-2000
  • Rev. Kenneth McRae 2000-2008
  • Rev. Marion Barclay McKay,B.A., M.Div., M.A., Dip. C.E. –  February 2009 – October 2020
  • Rev. Ritchie Robinson – September 2021 – present

Some significant dates in our history

  • 1803: 300 Gaelic speaking people arrived from Scotland.
  • 1840: The first St. Andrew’s Church was erected on Shore Road. Dedicated April 25, with a seating capacity of 300.
  • 1840: Rev. James Fraser of Boularderie officiated at the dedication of the congregation of St. Andrew’s.
  • 1842: On May 17th Matthew Wilson was ordained by the Presbytery of Glasgow, Scotland with the view of taking pastoral charge of Sydney Mines, North Sydney, Florence and Little Bras D’Or.
  • 1842: In July – at the age of 36 Rev. Wilson arrived by barque in Sydney Harbour.
  • 1842: Rev. Matthew Wilson was inducted by the Presbytery of Cape Breton into the charge of Sydney Mines, Little Bras d’Or & North Sydney.
  • 1842: The first St. Andrew’s manse was built on Shore Road for Rev. Matthew Wilson. This was the first Presbyterian manse in Cape Breton.
  • 1876: The second church with a seating capacity for five hundred people was erected on the same Shore Road site at a cost of $6,000.
  • 1902: The second church began the move to the corner lot at Main Street & Queen Street. It spent 6 winter months stuck at Sutherland’s corner
  • 1903: Saturday June 13 – the second church was reopened on the ground between the present St. Andrew’s Church and the former Queen St. manse.
  • 1906-1907 The present church, with a seating capacity of 800 was built for $20,000, opened for worship and was dedicated on April 12, 1907.