Caledonia, Nova Scotia is a community located in northern Region of Queens Municipality, Nova Scotia, along Trunk 8 (Kejimkujik Scenic Drive). Caledonia is the major community in the area known as North Queens, which has a radius of approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) and a population of approximately 1500.
Caledonia is 50 kilometres north of Liverpool along Highway 8. 17 kilometres further north of Caledonia, in Maitland Bridge, is the main entrance to Kejimkujik National Park.
The original inhabitants of the Caledonia area are the Mi'kmaq people. Before the arrival of European settlers, the Mi'kmaq who lived here used the area as hunting grounds due to its reported abundance of wildlife. The Mi'kmaq established favorable relationships with the settlers once they arrived. [1]
The original settlers of Caledonia were six Scots and an Irishman, who settled on the seven hills in greater Caledonia. Caledonia was the Latin name given by the Romans to the area of modern-day Scotland, and with Nova Scotia translating as 'New Scotland', also from Latin, the names in the area obviously reflect this heritage.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Mi'kmaq often found employment serving as guides for visitors to the area who were seeking to go on wilderness expeditions. One notable Mi'kmaq guide in the area was Joseph Gloade, who guided some of the earliest Europeans in the area on hunting trips beginning in the late 18th century. [1]
Caledonia was established in 1820 by a group of eight settlers, composed of seven Scotsmen and one Irishman, who laid the foundation for this Nova Scotian community through their pioneering efforts in agriculture and forestry.
These settlers forged a community in a landscape of virgin forests, establishing large farms and a closely-knit community that has maintained its rural charm and heritage to this day. [2]
In 1884, Caledonia served as the hub for the gold rush in the nearby communities of Whiteburne and North Brookfield.
The N.F. Douglas lumber mill in Caledonia was one of the area's main employers until its closure in 2014. Other industries include forestry, farming, a blueberry processing operation, and Kejimkujik National Park. Caledonia has a range of shops and services including; grocery, pharmacy, hardware store, post office, cafe/restaurants, medical centre, outdoor swimming pool and a Nova Scotia Liquor Commission outlet.
North Queens Community School, operated by South Shore Regional School Board, provides education from grades primary to twelve. [3]
Each September, Caledonia plays host to the Queens County Fair, which includes a parade and one of the oldest agricultural exhibitions in Nova Scotia.
Caledonia was formerly the end of a Canadian National Railway branch line. The line was long ago abandoned but has recently been refurbished as part of a rails-to-trails program by the Brookfield Mines Trails Association, creating a multi-use path from Caledonia to Colpton. The 18 km stretch of trail has signage, gates, and benches.
Caledonia has been shaped by numerous influential individuals known for their significant contributions to the community's development and cultural heritage. Below are ten prominent figures who have left a lasting impact on Caledonia, Nova Scotia, along with the approximate eras during which they were most active.
These individuals represent a fraction of those who have contributed to making Caledonia a vibrant and enduring community in Nova Scotia. Their stories are preserved in the local historical records and continue to inspire current and future generations. [2]
Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School.
Kings County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 62,914 in the 2021 Census, Kings County is the third most populous county in the province. It is located in central Nova Scotia on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, with its northeastern part forming the western shore of the Minas Basin.
Queens County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
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Kejimkujik National Park is a national park of Canada, covering 404 km2 (156 sq mi) in the southwest of Nova Scotia peninsula. Located within three municipalities, Annapolis, Queens, Digby, it consists of two separate land areas: an inland part, which is coincident with the Kejimkujik National Historic Site of Canada, and the Kejimkujik National Park Seaside on the Atlantic coast.
The Mi'kmaq are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as Native Americans in the northeastern region of Maine. The traditional national territory of the Mi'kmaq is named Miꞌkmaꞌki.
Miꞌkmaw hieroglyphic writing or Suckerfish script was a writing system for the Miꞌkmaw language, later superseded by various Latin scripts which are currently in use. Mi'kmaw are a Canadian First Nation whose homeland, called Mi'kma'ki, overlaps much of the Maritime provinces, specifically all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and parts of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
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The Tobeatic Wilderness Area is the largest protected area in the Canadian Maritimes, located in southwestern Nova Scotia. It contains nearly 120,000 hectares of land and spans parts of five counties, Annapolis, Digby, Queens, Shelburne and Yarmouth. Located adjacent to Kejimkujik National Park, it was formerly known as the Tobeatic Wildlife Management Area, and the Tobeatic Game Reserve.
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Waterloo, Nova Scotia, Canada is a small rural community in western Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. The community extends approximately 10 kilometers from Route 210 to the Queens County line and is 20 kilometers from the commercial hub of Bridgewater. The Waterloo Road runs through the community providing a picturesque alternative to Route 210 when travelling between Newcombville and Greenfield.
Kennetcook is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants. Also see adjacent community of Upper Kennetcook.
Greenfield is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Region of Queens Municipality. The sawmill in Greenfield, founded in 1832, is one of the oldest family-run sawmill businesses in North America. Until 1850 the region was occupied mostly by the Mi'kmaq of the Algonquin tribe, who seasonally settled the area below the lakes on either side of what is now called the Medway River and was known by the Mi'kmaq as Wigadoon.
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia.c On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British officer Charles Lawrence and New England Ranger John Gorham. On the other side, Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre led the Mi'kmaq and the Acadia militia in guerrilla warfare against settlers and British forces. At the outbreak of the war there were an estimated 2500 Mi'kmaq and 12,000 Acadians in the region.
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Southern Nova Scotia or the South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. The area has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries. Statistics Canada, defines Southern Nova Scotia as an economic region, composed of Lunenburg County, Queens County, Shelburne County, Yarmouth County, and Digby County. According to Statistics Canada, the region had the highest decrease of population in Canada from 2009 to 2010, with a population decrease of 10.2 residents per thousand. The region also has the second-highest median age in Canada at 47.1 years old.
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