This church on Keswick Ridge has its
roots in the Congregational faith of settlers from the Rowley area of
Massachusetts. In 1762 a group of men and their families from this
town moved to the Maugerville and Sheffield area. My Jewett ancestors were among
them. By 1802 some members of this group purchased and bought land on the
high ridge between the Keswick and the Mactaquac. Shortly after moving to
this area they organized the Congregational Society of Keswick Ridge which
conducted services of worship in the homes of Society members for almost a
quarter of a century.
The first church building was completed and dedicated in August of 1826.
It stood on the opposite side of the road from the church pictured above.
That first meeting house was the center of religious and social activities for
fifty years. The congregation grew steadily and it was soon realized that
an expansion was needed. In 1875 the meeting house was moved across the
road and incorporated into a new church building with a tall white spire
dominating the head of the Ridge. It had for those times a large seating
capacity of 300.
The Congregational Church of Keswick Ridge entered the union of churches that
took place in 1925. That union of Churches produced the United Church of
Canada. The picture above dates from the 1970's.
This church today is still known as "the Church on the Ridge".