Hall's Harbour in Nova Scotia
Hall's Harbour is a fishing community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County on the North Mountain along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.
Hall's Harbour is a fishing community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County on the North Mountain along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.
Hall's Harbour is believed to be named after Samuel Hall, an American privateer in the American Revolution who used the cove to raid settlements in the Annapolis Valley but was forced to flee and abandon his ship in the harbour by pursuing militia in 1779. [1] Various legends grew up about the privateer raid, attracting treasure hunters who are said to have left abandoned pits deep in the woods surrounding the harbour. The harbour was first settled in 1826 by the Bucknam and Parker families who crossed the Bay from New Brunswick. A lumber mill soon went into operation, followed by a store established in 1830 by the Whitney family. [2] A school was started in 1831. The first wharf was built in 1836 and the community quickly grew around the sheltered tidal harbour which served to export timber and agricultural products from the Annapolis Valley. Farms developed along the road the Valley which became an associated community of East Halls Harbour. [3]
A shipyard produced many schooners and some square rigged vessels, the largest being the barque Jenny Bertaux, built in 1864. [4] A notable early resident was Ransford Dodsworth Bucknam, a local mariner whose 19th century career took him all over the world including a post as an admiral in the Turkish Navy. Growth of the village slowed in the 1870s as the depletion of timber reserves ended the lumber trade and the arrival in 1869 of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway in the Annapolis Valley and drew away agricultural shipments. Shipbuilding declined with the lack of timber and introduction of steamships although there was a brief revival in World War I. [5] The harbour continued as an inshore fishing port and small coastal shipping centre for coastal schooners and small steamers. The Canadian federal government took over operation of the wharves in the early 1900s and built a lighthouse on a small breakwater at the eastern harbour entrance in 1911. [6] The larger western breakwater was extended in 1920 and heavily damaged by a storm in 1962. [7] After World War II, coastal shipping ceased but the picturesque harbour drew many local cottagers and became a favoured place to view the dramatic change of the Bay of Fundy tides.
Fishing remains the main year round industry with several commercial lobster and scallop boats operating from the wharves in addition to a large lobster pound. The Harbour Authority of Halls Harbour took control of the harbour from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 1996. The West Breakwater, severely damaged by a storm in 1997 was rebuilt in stages and completed in 2003. [8] The other main industry is tourism. A seafood restaurant and souvenir shop was built with the lobster pound in the 1990s. The community has developed walking trails and small museum. A seasonal store operates beside the wharf. In summer, floating wharves provide mooring for recreational vessels, many of which are owned by summer residents who seasonally swell the village population. Several bed and breakfast operations cater to tourists and the village is home to several artist studios including David Lacey and the noted marine artist, printmaker and boatbuilder John Neville.
The Bay of Fundy is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its tidal range is the highest in the world. The name is probably a corruption of the French word fendu, meaning 'split'.
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.
Digby is an incorporated town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in the historical county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut, which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.
Annapolis Royal is a town in and the county seat of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community, known as Port Royal before 1710, is recognised as having one of the longest histories in North America, preceding the settlements at Plymouth, Jamestown and Quebec. For nearly 150 years, it served as the capital of Acadia and subsequently Nova Scotia until the establishment of Halifax in 1749.
Riverport is a village in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The harbour of Ritcey Cove is free from shoals and safe from every wind, considered one of the finest in North America. Riverport is a five-minute drive to several public beaches including Hirtle's Beach, Kingsburg Beach, Oxner Beach, Rose Bay Beach and Spindler Beach.
Parrsboro is a community located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Nova Scotia is a province located in Eastern Canada fronting the Atlantic Ocean. One of the Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia's geography is complex, despite its relatively small size in comparison to other Canadian provinces.
Parrsboro Harbour is a Canadian harbour located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.
Kingsport is a small seaside village located in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the shores of the Minas Basin. It was famous at one time for building some of the largest wooden ships ever built in Canada.
Eatonville is a former lumber and shipbuilding village in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. It includes a large tidal harbour at the mouth of the Eatonville Brook beside several dramatic sea stacks known as the "Three Sisters". It was founded in 1826 and abandoned in the 1940s. The site of the village is now part of Cape Chignecto Provincial Park.
Baxters Harbour is a former fishing community on the shore of the Bay of Fundy in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located 15 kilometres from Kentville. It was named for Dr. William Baxter and his son John Baxter who lived there in the early nineteenth century. It is believed that fishing started there about 1780.
Jeddore is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. The community itself comprises several smaller communities. Often the inner communities are referred to on their own but much of the time simply the encapsulating region of Jeddore is simply used. This is most likely due to the size of the communities, individually they are relatively unknown to residents outside of Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
Harbourville is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County on the Minas Channel of the Bay of Fundy.
Port George is a seaside community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County. It is a former port situated on the Bay of Fundy, 11 km north of Middleton, Nova Scotia just across North Mountain. It sits on the 45th parallel north.
Belliveau Cove is a historical Acadian community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the District of Clare in Digby County settled in 1768 on un-ceded Mi'kmaq territory. A major centre of wooden shipbuilding in the 19th and early 20th century, Belliveau Cove built the second largest wooden ship ever constructed in Canada, the County of Yarmouth in 1884. It is now a mixed community of citizens with diverse backgrounds, including Acadians.
The 1940 Nova Scotia hurricane swept through areas of Atlantic Canada in mid-September 1940. The fifth tropical cyclone and fourth hurricane of the year, it formed as a tropical depression east of the Lesser Antilles on September 7, though at the time weather observations in the area were sparse, so its formation was inferred. The disturbance gradually intensified throughout much of its early formative stages, attaining tropical storm strength on September 10; further strengthening into a hurricane north of Puerto Rico occurred two days later. Shortly thereafter, the hurricane recurved northward, and reached peak intensity the following day as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of at least 988 mbar. The cyclone steadily weakened thereafter before making landfall on Nova Scotia on September 17 with winds of 85 mph (135 km/h). Moving into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence later that day, the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. The remnant system curved eastward and passed over Newfoundland before dissipating over the Atlantic on September 19.
The Battle of Blomidon took place on 21 May 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The naval battle involved three armed U.S. privateer vessels against three Nova Scotian vessels off Cape Split, Nova Scotia. American Privateers caught two Nova Scotia Vessels. The first Nova Scotia vessel was re-captured by Lieut Benjamin Belcher. The second Nova Scotia vessel was overtaken by the captured crew under the command of Captain Bishop. The privateers were taken to Cornwallis and put on trial.
The Raid on Yarmouth took place on 5 December 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved American Privateers from Salem, Massachusetts attacking Yarmouth, Nova Scotia at Cape Forchu. The privateers intended to stop the export of supplies being sent from Nova Scotia to the loyalists in Boston.
The Province of Nova Scotia was heavily involved in the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). At that time, Nova Scotia also included present-day New Brunswick until that colony was created in 1784. The Revolution had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, "almost the 14th American Colony". At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. Largely as a result of American privateer raids on Nova Scotia villages, as the war continued, the population of Nova Scotia solidified their support for the British. Nova Scotians were also influenced to remain loyal to Britain by the presence of British military units, judicial prosecution by the Nova Scotia Governors and the efforts of Reverend Henry Alline.
The Battle off Halifax took place on 10 July 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The British privateer Resolution fought the American privateer Viper and heavy casualties were suffered by both sides. The battle was "one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering.... a loss of 51 lives in a single battle was virtually unheard of."
