The Trustees of Fort Massey Presbyterian Church, Halifax were incorporated under an act passed on 4 April 1871.

The act established Robert Boak, William James Stairs, Peter Ross, and John S. McLean, along with their successors, as a corporate body responsible for managing the church's property.

The trustees were authorized to collect arrears, acquire and dispose of real estate up to a value of $60,000, and construct buildings for worship, a manse, and other ecclesiastical purposes.

[9] By the 1880s, Fort Massey had adopted the "free will offering" system, with families contributing $100 per household to church-related causes.

[10] In 1909, a stained-glass window honoring John F. Stairs was placed in Fort Massey Church that was donated by his widow and children.