Mahone Bay

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Map highlighting Mahone Bay. Map highlighting Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.png
Map highlighting Mahone Bay.

Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands (potentially 365), [1] and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the Mahone Islands Conservation Association has been working to protect the natural environment of the bay. The bay and its islands contain a variety of habitats including forests, rocky shores, beaches, wetlands, and mudflats. Wildlife in the area include black guillemots, eagles, osprey, leach's storm petrels, puffins, razorbills, and great blue herons. [2]

Contents

History

HMS Hogue, which trapped the Young Teazer Hogue1.jpg
HMS Hogue, which trapped the Young Teazer

The area was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq. The first Europeans in the area were the French, the early maps of whom labelled the bay as La Baye de Toutes Iles (The Bay of Many Islands). The current name derives from the French mahonne, [3] a type of barge. [4]

In 1754 the British brought German speakers from Europe to colonize the area, starting in Lunenburg. German was the main language spoken in the area for many years, and today in the Bayview Cemetery, there are several gravestones dating from the late 1700s marked in German. Early settlers' names commemorated there include Zwicker, Eisenhauer, Heyson, and Kedy. [5]

The site was the scene of hostilities during the French and Indian War [6] and the War of 1812. [7]

Economic activity in the mid-1800s, which included forestry, shipbuilding, shipping, and farming, led to the construction of churches and schools. In 1903 a rail link was established to Halifax. In 1919 the town was incorporated. [8]

Today the principal economic driver is tourism.

Geography

A view of the Three Churches across Mahone Bay The Churches of Mahone Bay, NS.jpg
A view of the Three Churches across Mahone Bay

Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, its eastern shore is formed by the Aspotogan Peninsula and its western shore is formed by the First Peninsula (of Lunenburg). The Chester Peninsula juts several kilometres into Mahone Bay at roughly its midpoint.

The bay's geological history differs from its eastern neighbour, St. Margarets Bay, in that Mahone Bay shows a greater variety of soils and bedrock. Numerous glacial drumlins on the western shore near the towns of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg have produced soil conditions suitable for small-scale farming operations.

Mahone Bay also differs from St. Margarets Bay in that it is dotted with innumerable small and medium-sized islands throughout its waters. The shelter provided by these islands, along with the summer southwesterly flow, led to the scenery around Mahone Bay becoming a tourist attraction in itself. Today the towns of Chester and Mahone Bay have become a destination for cruising in pleasure yachts. A scenic provincial park at Graves Island just east of Chester is a popular camping destination.

Mahone Bay is home to numerous picturesque working fishing communities, one of the most famous being the communities of Big Tancook and Little Tancook, on Big Tancook Island and Little Tancook Island respectively. Other important fishing ports include Blandford.

Frank Parker Day's novel Rockbound takes place on the fictional island of the same name, which was based on the nearby island of East Ironbound and includes references to many other Mahone Bay islands and towns. Day visited the area and created Rockbound as a fictionalized, exaggerated account of life on the islands.

Mahone Bay contains Oak Island, well known in connection with tales of buried treasure.

The 2006 independent movie 'A Stone's Throw' was filmed primarily in and around Mahone Bay. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Island</span> Island in Nova Scotia, Canada

Oak Island is a privately owned island in Lunenburg County on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. The tree-covered island is one of several islands in Mahone Bay, and is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The nearest community is the rural community of Western Shore which faces the island, while the nearest village is Chester. The island is best known for various theories about buried treasure or historical artifacts, and the associated attempts to explore the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia</span> County in Nova Scotia, Canada

Lunenburg County is a historical county and census division on the South Shore of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Major settlements include Bridgewater, Lunenburg, and Mahone Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia</span> Town in Nova Scotia, Canada

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.

Rockbound is a novel published in 1928 by Canadian writer Frank Parker Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia</span>

St. Margarets Bay is a bay located on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada on the border of Halifax County and Lunenburg County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunenburg (provincial electoral district)</span> Provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada

Lunenburg is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester-St. Margaret's</span> Provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada

Chester—St. Margaret's is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It is located on the South Shore.

The Aspotogan Peninsula is a peninsula in the eastern part of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, separating St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants on the east side and by second generation German immigrants on the west side. Traditionally fishing was a major industry for communities throughout the peninsula, however other primary industries such as farming and forestry were historically important as well. Shipping and shipbuilding were secondary and tertiary industries that also came into prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia Trunk 3</span> Highway in Nova Scotia, Canada

Nova Scotia Trunk 3 is an east-west trunk highway in Nova Scotia. The route runs from Halifax to Yarmouth, along the South Shore. Trunk 3's status as an important regional highway link has been superseded by the parallel Highway 103.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Shore Regional Centre for Education</span> Public school board in Nova Scotia, Canada

The South Shore Regional Centre for Education (SSRCE) is the public school board responsible for the administration of elementary, junior high, and high school education in Lunenburg County and Queens County in Nova Scotia, Canada. The South Shore Regional Centre for Education was established on April 1, 2018 by the Nova Scotia Education Reform Act. It replaced the South Shore Regional School Board which was created August 1, 2004 by an Act of the provincial legislature.

The Lighthouse Route is a scenic roadway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It follows the province's South Shore for 585 km (364 mi) from Halifax to Yarmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of the District of Chester</span> Provides local government to the rural residents in part of Nova Scotia, Canada

The Municipality of the District of Chester is a Nova Scotia district municipality occupying the northeastern half of Lunenburg County, Canada.

Forest Heights Community School is a high school located in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada. Servicing students and families from eastern Lunenburg County, it is a member school of the South Shore Regional School Board.

Blandford is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route. Blandford originally included the present day communities of New Harbour, Upper Blandford, and Deep Cove.

Mill Cove is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route. The community was home to CFS Mill Cove from 1967 til the 1990s.

Blockhouse is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Lunenburg Municipal District in Lunenburg County. It was named after the blockhouses constructed by Captain Ephraim Cook to protect colonists following a raid in 1756. The final blockhouse in the community burned down in 1874.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Tancook Island</span>

Little Tancook Island is a Canadian island located off the coast of Nova Scotia. The island is one of the 365 islands dotting Mahone Bay. The island is 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long by 1 km (0.62 mi) wide and is roughly triangular in shape. It is separated from Big Tancook Island by the 1 km (0.62 mi) wide strait called "The Chops." It is located approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) off the Aspotogan Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Nova Scotia</span> Economic Region in Nova Scotia, Canada

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.

East Ironbound is an inhabited island located off the Aspotogan Peninsula in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, between St. Margarets Bay and Mahone Bay.

References

  1. ↑ Ernst, Michael; Lang, Sidney; MacDonald, Margaret; Rosbee, Jim; Wieser, Linda (2016-03-01). "Are there 365 islands in Mahone Bay?". mahoneislands.ns.ca. Mahone Islands Conservation Association. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  2. ↑ "MICA: Mahone Islands Conservation Association - The Mahone Bay Islands Today". www.mahoneislands.ns.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
  3. ↑ Hamilton, William. Place Names of Atlantic Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 355.
  4. ↑ Larousse, Éditions. "Définitions : mahonne - Dictionnaire de français Larousse". www.larousse.fr (in French). Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  5. ↑ "HistoricPlaces.ca - HistoricPlaces.ca". www.historicplaces.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  6. ↑ Bell, Wintrop Packard (1961). The "Foreign Protestants" and the Settlement of Nova Scotia: The History of a Piece of Arrested British Colonial Policy in the Eighteenth Century . University of Toronto Press. p.  511.
  7. ↑ Archibald MecMechan. Sagas of the Sea.
  8. ↑ "History - Town of Mahone Bay". www.townofmahonebay.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  9. ↑ "Follow Me Home, from The Coast, Sept 14, 2006".

44°30′N64°13′W / 44.500°N 64.217°W / 44.500; -64.217

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