Following the arrival of Dr. James McGregor, in 1786, the Presbyterians erected a church at Loch Broom on the West River, and one at New Glasgow, near the Old Duff Cemetery, along the East River.  Dr. McGregor preached his first sermon in Squire Patterson's barn near Pictou.  He was the first regularly appointed minister in Pictou County and he served the Presbyterians singly until 1795, when Rev. Duncan Ross became his assistant.

    In 1801, Dr. McGregor assumed charge of the East River and Merigomish parishes, and Rev. Duncan Ross became pastor of Loch Broom congregation, while the Pictou or Harbour congregation was served temporarily, until Dr. Thomas McCulloch was chosen to be its minister in 1804, who remained until 1824, when he resigned in order to give all his time to Pictou Academy.

    After Dr. McCulloch had become pastor, the congregation erected a church on the lot occupied by Prince Street Church.  It served them as a church home until 1848, when the present building was completed, which has a seating capacity for about 800 persons.

    St. Andrews congregation was founded in Pictou in 1822, where they first worshipped in the Old Court House.  In 1823 they erected a small wooden building on the land on which stands the present imposing structure.  In 1866 the original building was replaced by a brick and stone church, costing $32,000.  It served the congregation as a church home until 1893, when it was destroyed by fire, to be followed by the present handsome brick building completed in 1895.

    Knox Church was organized about 1846, and in 1848, the present church building was erected.  In 1894 the church was thoroughly renovated.  The old seats were replaced by the new ones of polished oak, and other improvements made, making it with its imposing location, one of the finest church properties in the town.

    Stella Maris Catholic Church commands a magnificent view of Pictou Harbour.  The first Catholic church in the county, was built in Merigomish in 1810.  Services were held in Pictou as early as 1823, and in 1828 the first priest was regularly located in the town.  In 1865, during the pastorship of Rev. Ronald MacDonald, who in 1881 was elevated to the purple as Bishop of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, the present church was built, followed a few years later by the erection of the Glebe House and Convent of the sisters of the Congregation de Notre Dame.

    St. James Anglican Parish was first organized in 1826, and the first church building was dedicated for worship in 1829.  From Pictou as a center the other churches in the county were served until 1852, when that part including New Glasgow and Albion Mines was constituted a separate parish.  As early as 1775, however, occasional services had been held.  In 1849, the church was lengthened, and in 1869 a rectory was completed, while in 1879 the corner stone was laid for the present church building, which was dedicated for worship on June 5th, 1881.

    The Methodist Church was organized in 1856, altho the history of Methodism in the county dates back to 1798, when the coal mines were first opened.  The Pictou Church building belonged originally to the United Evangelical denomination who united with the former, to form the Methodist congregation, which numbers at present about 60 communicants.