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.
The origin of the name "Pictou" is obscure. Possible Mi'kmaq derivations include "Piktook" meaning an explosion of gas, and "Bucto" meaning fire, possibly related to the coal fields in the area. It might also be a corruption of Poictou (Poitou), a former province of France. Nicolas Denys named the harbourLa rivière de Pictou in the 1660s.[3][4][5]
History
The area of the modern Pictou County was a part of the Miꞌkmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki (mi'gama'gi) at the time of European contact.[6]
Hector Pioneer by renowned sculptor John Wilson, Pictou, Nova Scotia
Pictou came under the control of Britain in 1763 after the French and Indian War. In 1765 the first British land grants were issued, including a grant to the Philadelphia Company. A number of families from that company left Philadelphia aboard the Hope in May 1767, and arrived at Pictou Harbour in June.[7]:46–78 In 1770 there were 120 settlers living in Pictou, of which 93 were American, 18 were Irish, five were Acadian, and two each were Scottish and English.[7]:67
Pictou was a receiving point for many Scottish immigrants moving to a new home in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island following the Highland Clearances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Consequently, the town's slogan is "The Birthplace of New Scotland"; the first wave of immigrants from Scotland is acknowledged to have arrived on September 15, 1773, on the Hector.[7]:81
Coal was first discovered in Pictou County in 1798. A number of different individuals and companies were involved in the nascent coal industry; however, in 1825 the majority of mining rights in Nova Scotia was obtained by the General Mining Association. After surveying mines in Nova Scotia, they chose to start at the East River of Pictou and in the summer of 1827 they began operations there. By the end of the year the first steam engine in Nova Scotia was operating at Albion Mines.[7]:398–401
In 1839 the first locomotive in Canada to run on iron rails, the Samson, was put into service at Albion Mines. It is the oldest surviving locomotive in Canada.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pictou County had a population of 43,657 living in 19,735 of its 22,410 total private dwellings, a change of −0.2% from its 2016 population of 43,748. With a land area of 2,844.1km2 (1,098.1sqmi), it had a population density of 15.4/km2 (39.8/sqmi) in 2021.[8]
Forming the majority of the Pictou County census division, the Municipality of the County of Pictou, including its Subdivisions A, B, and C, had a population of 20,676 living in 9,146 of its 11,026 total private dwellings, a change of −0.1% from its 2016 population of 20,692. With a land area of 2,795.08km2 (1,079.19sqmi), it had a population density of 7.4/km2 (19.2/sqmi) in 2021.[9]
Pictou County is wholly within the federal electoral district of Central Nova. Since the electoral district was reformed in 2004, only two MPs have held the office. Currently, the county is represented federally by the Liberal Party. The seat is held by Liberal MP Sean Fraser, who was elected in 2015.
The towns of New Glasgow, Stellarton, Pictou, Westville and Trenton each have their own town councils. The Municipality of Pictou County serves the remaining rural areas, including Pictou Island. Amalgamation of these six municipal units is occasionally considered.[14][15] Pictou County District Planning Commission provides planning, development and waste disposal services to all the communities in the county.
The former Pictou County pulp mill employed roughly 300 employees directly, with hundreds more indirect jobs in related industries.
Resource based industries include coal mining, forestry, fishing, and agriculture. Manufacturing industries include Michelin Tire, Northern Pulp and Scotsburn Dairy. Web.Com operate a call center in New Glasgow. One of the largest employers in the area is Sobeys. The company started in Stellarton, where its headquarters is still located today.[17] Tourism is an important part of the economy during the summer. In 2006 employed 1,200 people and brought 45 million dollars to the economy.[18] Two provincially-owned museums operate within the county, Stellarton's Nova Scotia Museum of Industry, and the McCulloch House Museum in Pictou. Rail car manufacturer Trenton Works was closed in 2007 when owners Greenbrier moved production to Mexico. There are 2,400 small and medium-sized businesses that collectively generate more than 15,000 jobs.[19]
The Pictou County Chamber of Commerce is a business advocacy group that speaks as a united voice on behalf of the business community.
Pictou County is served by the weekly newspapers The News and The Pictou Advocate. Pictou County has two locally based radio station is CKEC-FM & CKEZ-FM. A sports and recreation paper is distributed monthly through the mail at no charge.[22]
Culture
There are two performance spaces in the county: the deCoste Centre in Pictou and Glasgow Square in New Glasgow. Both host local musicians and events, including the Festival of Summer Sounds series at the deCoste and the New Glasgow Riverfront Jubilee in August at the Glasgow Square.
Many of the towns and villages host their own parades and events throughout the year. Read By The Sea is an annual literary festival held in the village of River John. The New Scotland Days Festival in Pictou each September is a celebration of the county's Scottish heritage. Pictou also hosts the Lobster Carnival every July since 1934. It was voted the best festival in Canada.[23] New Glasgow's Art at Night is an annual one night art event in downtown New Glasgow. Eventide Art Hub in New Glasgow hosts an Art Gallery, Artist Studios, and a retail space for artists and musicians to sell their work.
The Nova Scotia Museum of Industry
Museums include the Northumberland Fisheries Museum, the Hector Heritage Quay, and the McCulloch House Museum in Pictou, the Pictou County Military Museum in Westville, the Carmichael House in New Glasgow, and the Museum of Industry in Stellarton.
Pictou County is also known for the regional pizza variant known as Pictou County Pizza, which can be shipped to former residents living across Canada through UPS, and is available in frozen pizzas throughout the Maritimes.[24][25]
↑ Respondents who reported multiple ethnic origins are counted more than once in this table.
Related Research Articles
New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait.
Westville is a town in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located immediately west of Stellarton and about four kilometres southwest of New Glasgow, the major town in the area.
Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow.
Stellarton is a town located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Mines. The town was incorporated as Stellarton in 1889 and owes its name to a specific type of torbanite which came to be known as "stellarite" because of the "stars of fire" given off by its sparky flame.
Central Nova is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 until 1996. In 1996, Antigonish County and part of Guysborough County were placed with Pictou County in a new electoral boundaries configuration to form the electoral district of Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough. A new version of Central Nova was established in 2003 and — in conjunction with the Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough iteration — represented a significant electoral boundaries change with specific reference to Antigonish County. Between 1867 and 1997, Antigonish County was not in a riding that included Pictou County; rather, it comprised either its own electoral district (Antigonish), or part of other districts shared with Eastern Nova Scotia (Antigonish-Guysborough) and Cape Breton Island communities. In 2013, part of Antigonish County was "placed back" with communities in the electoral district of Cape Breton Canso, a riding which had emerged in part from the former Cape Breton Highlands Canso riding in 1996. The current version of Central Nova includes Pictou County, parts of Antigonish and Guysborough Counties and extends into Halifax Regional Municipality.
Antigonish is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres northeast of Halifax, the provincial capital.
Trenton is a town located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1786, it is situated on the east bank of the East River of Pictou. The community gained its name in 1882 at the suggestion of a prominent citizen, Harvey Graham, after he visited Trenton, New Jersey. It was incorporated as a town on 11 March 1911.
Trunk 4 is part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's system of Trunk Highways. The route runs from Highway 104 exit 7 near Thomson Station to Glace Bay. Until the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, Trunk 4 was a major traffic link in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, and is still used on Cape Breton as an alternative to Highway 105. The highway was originally called the King's Highway, however, this name is no longer applied to the entire road. The only remaining historic section of the highway that maintains the name "King" is King's Road in Sydney.
Frank Hoyse Sobey, OC was a Canadian businessman and art collector who was the primary builder of the Sobeys chain of supermarkets.
Heritage Gas Limited is a company that specializes in providing natural gas solutions to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Based in Nova Scotia, Canada, Heritage Gas offers clean and reliable energy options for heating, cooking, and various other energy needs.
Lyons Brook is a Canadian rural community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
The Trenton Generating Station or Trenton GS is a 310 MW Canadian thermal generating station located in the town of Trenton, Nova Scotia.
The Samson is an English-built railroad steam locomotive made in 1838 that ran on the Albion Mines Railway in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is preserved at the Nova Scotia Museum of Industry in Stellarton, Nova Scotia and is the oldest locomotive in Canada.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nova Scotia:
Pictou Harbour is a natural harbour in Nova Scotia on the Northumberland Strait.
The East River of Pictou is a Canadian river located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
The Middle River of Pictou is a Canadian river located in Pictou County, 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).
Pictou County Transit is a Canadian public transport system comprising one bus route in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, which serves the towns of New Glasgow and Stellarton.
↑ Joan Baxter (2017), The Mill: Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest, Pottersfield Press, e-edition, p. 319
↑ Judith Hoegg Ryan (1995), "The Birthplace of New Scotland: An Illustrated History of Pictou County, Canada's Cradle of Industry", Formac Publishing, p. 177
↑ "About PCTA". The Pictou County Tourism Association website. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
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