From top proceeding clockwise: Creamery Square in Tatamagouche, beach near Bass River, Glooscap monument in Millbrook, farm near Stewiacke, NSCC in Truro.
Colchester County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 51,476[2] the county is the fourth largest in Nova Scotia. Colchester County is located in north central Nova Scotia.
The majority of the county is governed by the Municipality of the County of Colchester, the county also is home to two independent incorporated towns, Stewiacke and Truro, two village commissions in Bible Hill and Tatamagouche, and the Millbrook 27First Nations reserve.
The glaciers began their retreat from in the Maritimes approximately 13,500 years ago.[4] The earliest evidence of Palaeo-Indian settlement in the region follows rapidly after deglaciation. The record of continuous habitation through the paleo and archaic period over ten thousand years culminated in the development of the culture, traditions, and language now known as the Mi'kmaq.[5] For several thousand years the territory of the province has been a part of the territory of the Mi'kmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki. Mi'kma'ki includes what is now the Maritimes, parts of Maine, Newfoundland and the Gaspé Peninsula. Colchester County is located in the traditional Mi'kmaw districts of Sipekni'katik to the south and west, and Epekwitk aq Piktuk to the north and east.
French colonization of the area began during the 1680s. Acadian settlers were farmers were accustomed to farming on dyked lands in France. They used normally salty but fertile marshes that were found on the banks of the Minas Basin and through the use of dykes and aboiteaux that allowed fresh water to enter but kept out the salt-water tide.
The appellation Colchester was applied in 1780 to the district previously called "Cobequid," and was derived from the town of Colchester in Essex. The old name Cobequid was derived from the Mi'kmaq word "Wagobagitk" meaning "the bay runs far up", in reference to the area surrounding the easternmost inlet of the Minas Basin, a body of water called Cobequid Bay.
The District of Colchester, which was at first part of Halifax County, was established as a county in its own right in 1835. In 1838 a distinct line of division between Cumberland County and Colchester County was established. Two years later, in 1840, the Township of Parrsboro was divided and part of it annexed to Colchester County. In 1871, the boundaries between the Counties of Hants and Colchester and between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester were established. In 1880 the boundary between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester was revised. Eventually in 1897 a portion of the boundary between the Counties of Colchester and Cumberland was fixed and defined.
The question of the boundary between Colchester and Cumberland Counties was the subject of a Commission of Inquiry established in 1946. The report was filed in the office of the Provincial Secretary and in the office of the Department of Lands and Forests in January 1959. Certified copies of it were sent to the Registrars of Deeds for the Counties of Colchester, Cumberland and Kings.
Government
The village of Tatamagouche
The Municipality of the County of Colchester is governed by a municipal council composed of a Mayor elected at-large and 11 Councillors elected to represent districts. Municipal Council is responsible oversee the provision of the services of municipal government. Municipal governments in Nova Scotia are Council–manager governments, meaning that the Council provides policy direction and approves the budget, and the Chief Administrative Officer oversees the administrative operations and implement Council's policies. Directly delivered services include services such as fire protection, public works, roads, and water. The municipality participates in shared services, such as police, solid waste management, library services, and the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.
The municipal operating budget was $29.1 million in 2017/18.[6] The current mayor is Christine Blair.[7] Municipal governments in Nova Scotia are elected every four years and the most recent round of elections took place on October 15, 2016.[8] The provincial legislation that creates and empowers the municipality is the Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act.[9]
While the majority of the land area of county is governed by the Municipal Council of the Municipality of the County of Colchester the county also includes two independently incorporated towns, Stewiacke and Truro, as well as the independently governed Millbrook First Nation. Within the county are also two communities with incorporated village commissions in Bible Hill and Tatamagouche which are a part of the county wide municipality but are created to provide additional village services. Colchester is represented by three ridings in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and two ridings in Canada's House of Commons.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Colchester County had a population of 51,476 living in 23,056 of its 25,638 total private dwellings, a change of 1.8% from its 2016 population of 50,585. With a land area of 3,627.5km2 (1,400.6sqmi), it had a population density of 14.2/km2 (36.8/sqmi) in 2021.[10]
Forming the majority of the Colchester County census division, the Municipality of the County of Colchester, including its Subdivisions A, B, and C, had a population of 36,044 living in 15,665 of its 17,877 total private dwellings, a change of -0.1% from its 2016 population of 36,091. With a land area of 3,568.71km2 (1,377.89sqmi), it had a population density of 10.1/km2 (26.2/sqmi) in 2021.[11]
↑ Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
↑ Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
↑ Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
↑ Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
↑ Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.
Related Research Articles
Stewiacke is a town located in southern Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town was incorporated on August 30, 1906.
Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
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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.
Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthermore, its 2016 population is only 88.11% of the census population in 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova Scotia.
Pugwash is an incorporated village in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located on the Northumberland Strait at the mouth of the Pugwash River. It had a population of 746 as of the 2021 census. The name Pugwash is derived from the Mi'kmaq word Pakwesk, meaning "a shoal", in reference to a reef near the mouth of the harbour.
Truro is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at the eastern end of Cobequid Bay.
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.
Port Hawkesbury is a municipality in southern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. While within the historical county of Inverness, it is not part of the Municipality of Inverness County.
Tatamagouche is a village in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Cumberland—Colchester is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.
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Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
Trunk 2 is part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's system of Trunk Highways. The route runs from Halifax to Fort Lawrence on the New Brunswick border. Until the 1960s, Trunk 2 was the Halifax area's most important highway link to other provinces, and was part of a longer Interprovincial Highway 2 which ended in Windsor, Ontario. The controlled access Highway 102 and Highway 104 now carry most arterial traffic in the area, while Trunk 2 serves regional and local traffic.
Fort Ellis was a British fort or blockhouse built during the French and Indian War, located at the junction of the Shubenacadie and Stewiacke Rivers, close to Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, Canada. The location was labelled Ville Pierre Hebert by Charles Morris. The 14 Acadian families in the area vacated with the Acadian Exodus. Charles Morris recommended a Fort on the Shubenacadie River in 1753. Governor Lawrence first considered the fort in 1754 as a means to protect Halifax from Mi'kmaq raids. Lawrence decided the fort would not be effective until after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour. The fort was completed on October 18, 1761, shortly after the Halifax Treaties were signed. The fort was to guard the new road built to connect Truro and Halifax against Mi'kmaq raids. The fort was called Fort Ellis after Governor Henry Ellis, who was appointed governor weeks after the forts completion. The fort was never garrisoned and eventually abandoned in 1767. Fort Belcher, named after Governor Jonathan Belcher, was built on Salmon River in Lower Onslow, Nova Scotia (1761–67). Fort Franklin was built at Tatamagouche in 1768, named after Michael Francklin and lasted only a year. Fort Morris was named after Charles Morris.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nova Scotia:
The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is divided into 49 municipalities, of which there are three types: regional (4), town (25), and county or district municipality (20).
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