George W. Boehner - An early Liverpool builder

According to the late Harley Walker, well known researcher in things Milton, and whose work is recorded at the Queens County Museum, "the local saw millers were installing machinery to plane lumber, and make moldings of many fancy shapes. He employed an architect, William G. Hammond, who was also a master carpenter. Their first big job was to draw up plans for a new Court House for Queens County, to be built in Liverpool, the County Seat, which became incorporated thirty years later. Their design was far advanced from that of competitors, and was successful. Today, it is a gem for heritage sites in the province of Nova Scotia."

Ten years later, the congregation of the Milton Christian Church decided to build a bigger church. The contractor selected was the newly formed company of Boehner, Hammond and Ritchie. Boehner and company had built three vessels in their shipyard during the past year. Other major buildings included: a new drill hall for the militia, a new Wesleyan church, in Liverpool, the Little Hope Lighthouse, in the ocean, and many other smaller projects.

The following report appeared in the weekly paper, the Liverpool Transcript for December 22, 1865:

"A new church: The building recently erected for the 'Christian Domination in Milton, was opened for service. Elder W.S. Patterson preached in the morning from the words 'But the word of the Lord grew and multiplied.' In the afternoon, Elder Thomas Kielor selected for his text - 'Behold to obey is better than sacrifices or to harken unto the fat of rams.' In the evening, elder Patterson again officiated, and delivered an excellent sermon from Saint Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy -and ‘unto salvation Able to make thee rise under salvation through faith, which is Christ Jesus.' On all three occasions the church was filled, and the audience seemed to listen to the very able discourse with much attention.

The new place of worship is the largest and handsomest building of its kind in Milton -costing the Society which erected it upwards of $7,000 - and to their credit, it is said, has been paid for without seeking aid outside of their own circle, or by the assistance of a tea meeting or bazaar.

Elder Hiram Wallace is, in future to preside over this church.

The vestry is in the basement of this building and measures 55 feet x 43 feet, and the principal room is 70 feet long. The main building measures 90 feet. It is interesting to note that their next venture was also a church.

Liverpool Transcript: December 29, 1865: "We understand that Mr. Boehner, of this town, has taken the contract to build the new Baptist meeting-house on the site of the one recently destroyed by fire. The plans, specifications etc., drawn by Mr. Hammond, have been accepted by the board of trustees.”

Another footnote: Some years ago, say about 30 years, local contractor, D.D. Hatt did some repair work outside of the Christian Church. One of the carpenters, Clarence Moores, in replacing a facial board at or near the eaves, found a wooden plane. It was speculated that the plane must have been left there during the construction period.

In 1995, he donated the artifact to the Milton Blacksmith Museum. On examination, the original owner's name is plainly stamped - W.G. Hammond. That was the name of the architect partner of George Boehner, who built the original church for $7,000 in 1864/65.

Another clue on the origination of this church: Miss Margaret Martin, research coordinator of a research team for South Shore Seasoned Timbers, expressed these thoughts to Harley Walker. She stated she had been impressed by the design of the steeple area, and had an architectural textbook of early New England and the Boston North Street Church. We thought, at the time, that the local architect had been influenced by that publication, because of similarities.