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]
Cape Breton Island is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
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The Acadians are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries.
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.
Mahone Bay is a town on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County. A long-standing picturesque tourism destination, the town has recently enjoyed a growing reputation as a haven for entrepreneurs and business startups. The town has the fastest growing population of any municipality in Nova Scotia according to the 2016 census, experiencing 9.9% population growth.
Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia.
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 history of Nova Scotia covers a period from thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Nova Scotia were inhabited by the Mi'kmaq people. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the region was claimed by France and a colony formed, primarily made up of Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. This time period involved six wars in which the Mi'kmaq along with the French and some Acadians resisted the British invasion of the region: the French and Indian Wars, Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War. During Father Le Loutre's War, the capital was moved from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, to the newly established Halifax, Nova Scotia (1749). The warfare ended with the Burying the Hatchet ceremony (1761). After the colonial wars, New England Planters and Foreign Protestants immigrated to Nova Scotia. After the American Revolution, Loyalists immigrated to the colony. During the nineteenth century, Nova Scotia became self-governing in 1848 and joined the Canadian Confederation in 1867.
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Tufts Cove is an urban neighbourhood in the community of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the North End of Dartmouth. The neighbourhood boundaries of Tufts Cove are approximately from Albro Lake Road in the south to Highway 111 in the north, and from Victoria Road in the east with the harbour to the west.
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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