Antigonish is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia

Antigonish County, Nova Scotia

Antigonish County, Nova Scotia is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in northern Nova Scotia on the Northumberland Strait and its county seat is the town of Antigonish.-History:...

. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University

St. Francis Xavier University

St. Francis Xavier University is a post-secondary institution located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The school was founded in 1853, but did not offer degrees until 1868. The university has approximately 5000 students.-History:...

 and the oldest continuous highland games

Highland games

Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...

 in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.
The name Antigonish is of Mi'kmaq

Mi'kmaq language

The Mi'kmaq language is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 9,100 Mi'kmaq in Canada and the United States out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000. The word Mi'kmaq is a plural word meaning 'my friends' ; the adjectival form is Míkmaw...

 origin and is believed to refer to "The place where tree branches are torn off by bears gathering beech

American Beech

Fagus grandifolia, also known as American Beech or North american beech, is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the...

 nuts". The first European settlement took place in 1784 when Colonel Timothy Hierlihy received a large land grant surrounding Antigonish Harbour

Antigonish Harbour, Nova Scotia

Antigonish Harbour is a community and harbour in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Antigonish County, first settled in 1784 by disbanded soldiers loyal to the British side in the American Revolution....

. Hierlihy and his party founded the Dorchester settlement, named for Sir Guy Carleton, who was Governor General of Canada

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

 and subsequently Lord Dorchester.