In ancient times, all monastery churches in Vasiliev were built from wood belonging to the monastery. The strength of this wood is confirmed by the following fact: next to the Vasiliev stone cemetery church, dedicated to Saint Archangel Michael, there existed a special wooden church in the name of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from 1700 to 1881. It was erected during the period when the site of the cemetery was home to the women's Archangel Monastery. The church was built from wood located nearby the monastery and was consecrated by Metropolitan Isaiah of Nizhny Novgorod and Alatyr during the reign of Emperor Peter I.

In 1857, by the order of His Grace Jeremiah, Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod, the church was closed as he deemed it dilapidated upon visiting. It remained closed until 1881.

In 1881, when a colony for juvenile offenders was being established near Nizhny Novgorod along the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod railway, the Vasiliev peasants donated this wooden church, which had been closed for over 20 years, for the establishment of a new church in the colony. With the permission of the Spiritual Consistory, the church was dismantled. During the dismantling, it was discovered that the trees from which it was built, despite being 200 years old, were suitable for constructing a new church and possessed remarkable quality, except for the bottom row. They were resinous, red, and twisted, as if woven from ropes. Upon inspection with an axe, no rot was found even at a depth of 1/8 of a fathom, and the diameter of the trees was 14-16 fathoms. Thus, the church built in the juvenile offenders' colony from the former Vasiliev church turned out to be very sturdy and will stand for many more years.