Digby, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Digby is a Canadian
town in western Nova Scotia
. It is the shiretown and largest population centre in Digby County
.
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
.
Named after Admiral Robert Digby
, RN
, the town is famous for its scallop
fishing fleet and the Princess of Acadia
ferry service connecting to Saint John, NB
.
The area was settled in June 1783 by the United Empire Loyalists
under the leadership of Sir Robert Digby.
The town developed a sizable shipping fleet in the 19th century. One famous Digby vessel was the brigantine Dei Gratia
, which discovered the famous mystery ship Mary Celeste
in 1872. The town became an important regional transportation centre in the 1890s with the arrival of the Dominion Atlantic Railway
. Trains connected with a series of steamships such as the City of Monticello and later the SS Princess Helene
.
The town's history is preserved and interpreted by the Admiral Digby Museum
, located in a historic home facing the harbour.
on the town's outskirts. Built in 1905 and then purchased in 1917 by the Dominion Atlantic Railway
, the resort provided a focal point to the local tourism industry with a large expansion in 1927. Expanded several times since, it was bought by the Government of Nova Scotia
after the Dominion Atlantic sold its hotels. About 20 additional motels, Inns and Bed and Breakfast operations are based in Digby making tourism an important employer.
The annual Scallop Days Festival, held the first week of August annually, brings the fishing and tourism industries together to showcase the town’s history and heritage to the tourists. The festival offers a variety of themed activities for all ages, including scallop shucking contests, a parade, and an exhibition of local artists.
Since 2004, Digby has become the destination for a major regional motorcycle rally, the annual Wharf Rat Rally. It attracts many times the town's population, up to 17,000 motorcyclists, so many that schools and some roads have to close for the day due to crowds and motorcycle traffic. The Wharf Rat Rally event is generally held the week of Labour Day
in September each year.
. In later years, trawlers, especially those harvesting scallops became the mainstay.
and by the M/V Princess of Acadia ferry service to Saint John, New Brunswick
(operated by Bay Ferries Limited).
The Kings Transit
public transit system has stops in Digby at the Atlantic Superstore/Walmart, Sobeys/Canadian Tire, and the Digby General Hospital, although the bus can be hailed to stop at any location along Hwy 303 between Atlantic Superstore and the hospital. Buses going east or west bound are only available every other hour. The fare covers if you are travelling from Weymouth, Nova Scotia
or to Windsor, Nova Scotia
.
Kings Transit Fares
There are three taxi
companies that operate in Digby. They are Admiral Taxi, Basin Taxi, and Digby Cab. All three companies provide the same rates to riders.
and Sobeys
. There is also a Wal-mart
and a Canadian Tire
.
Restaurants include franchises such as two Tim Hortons
locations, Dairy Queen
, Subway
, Pizza Delight
, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and McDonald's
along with several other locally owned restaurants filling the downtown Water Street area. Most of the locally owned restaurants serve seafood dishes with a high concentration on scallops. Many restaurants close during the winter months due to the slow tourism during that time.
Downtown also has locally owned shops.
Circle K
, Ultramar
, Shell
, and Esso
have gas stations located in Digby.
There is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) station located on Victoria Street.
The Digby General Hospital, located on Warwick Street, provides basic medical care to the residents, including primary care, inpatient, restorative care, ambulatory, day surgery. Although they note on the website they provide emergency care, it is only available when a physician is available. Many patients are redirected to the hospital in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
or Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
in the case of an emergency.
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 western Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. It is the shiretown and largest population centre in Digby County
Digby County, Nova Scotia
Digby County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.Taking its name from the Township of Digby , which had been named in honour of Rear Admiral Robert Digby who dispatched HMS Atlanta to convey loyalists from New York City in the spring of 1783 to Conway, which became known as Digby,...
.
The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin
Annapolis Basin
The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the southwestern shores of the bay, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley....
near the entrance to the Digby Gut
Digby Gut
The Digby Gut is a narrow channel connecting the Bay of Fundy with the Annapolis Basin. The town of Digby, Nova Scotia is located on the inner portion of the western side of the Gut. The eastern entrance is marked by the Point Prim lighthouse...
which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
.
Named after Admiral Robert Digby
Robert Digby (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Robert Digby was an officer in the Royal Navy officer who also served briefly as an Member of Parliament .- Naval career :...
, RN
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the town is famous for its scallop
Scallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...
fishing fleet and the Princess of Acadia
MV Princess of Acadia (1971)
MV Princess of Acadia is a passenger and car ferry that travels between Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick, crossing the Bay of Fundy. The vessel holds 650 passengers and can take 165 cars....
ferry service connecting to Saint John, NB
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
.
History
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
under the leadership of Sir Robert Digby.
The town developed a sizable shipping fleet in the 19th century. One famous Digby vessel was the brigantine Dei Gratia
Dei Gratia (brigantine)
Dei Gratia was a Canadian brigantine built in Bear River, Nova Scotia in 1871. The brigantine was named after the Latin phrase for "By the Grace of God". Dei Gratia became famous in 1872 when, under the command of David Reed Morehouse, she discovered the mystery ship Mary Celeste found sailing...
, which discovered the famous mystery ship Mary Celeste
Mary Celeste
The Mary Celeste was an American brigantine merchant ship famous for having been discovered on 4 December 1872, in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned , despite the fact that the weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able...
in 1872. The town became an important regional transportation centre in the 1890s with the arrival of the Dominion Atlantic Railway
Dominion Atlantic Railway
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....
. Trains connected with a series of steamships such as the City of Monticello and later the SS Princess Helene
SS Princess Helene
SS Princess Helene was a historic Canadian passenger and freight ferry operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway .The Princess of Helene was built in 1930 at Dumbarton, Scotland...
.
The town's history is preserved and interpreted by the Admiral Digby Museum
Admiral Digby Museum
The Admiral Digby Museum is a museum located in Digby, Nova Scotia exploring the history of Digby the surrounding communities of Digby County. It is housed in a restored Georgian style house facing Digby Harbour known as the Woodrow/Dakin House, one of the oldest buildings in Digby. The museum is...
, located in a historic home facing the harbour.
Tourism
Tourism has played an important role in Digby during the 20th century beginning with the establishment of railway and steamship links that opened the town and surrounding communities as an-easy-to-reach destination for larger urban centres in eastern North America. A landmark in this industry was the construction of the Digby Pines ResortDigby Pines Resort
The Digby Pines Resort is a seasonal coastal resort hotel located at Digby, Nova Scotia on the shores of the Annapolis Basin. The Pines is owned by the Province of Nova Scotia and is one of the province's three "Signature Resorts," along with in Liscombe Mills and Keltic Lodge in Ingonish...
on the town's outskirts. Built in 1905 and then purchased in 1917 by the Dominion Atlantic Railway
Dominion Atlantic Railway
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....
, the resort provided a focal point to the local tourism industry with a large expansion in 1927. Expanded several times since, it was bought by the Government of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
after the Dominion Atlantic sold its hotels. About 20 additional motels, Inns and Bed and Breakfast operations are based in Digby making tourism an important employer.
The annual Scallop Days Festival, held the first week of August annually, brings the fishing and tourism industries together to showcase the town’s history and heritage to the tourists. The festival offers a variety of themed activities for all ages, including scallop shucking contests, a parade, and an exhibition of local artists.
Since 2004, Digby has become the destination for a major regional motorcycle rally, the annual Wharf Rat Rally. It attracts many times the town's population, up to 17,000 motorcyclists, so many that schools and some roads have to close for the day due to crowds and motorcycle traffic. The Wharf Rat Rally event is generally held the week of Labour Day
Labour Day
Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for...
in September each year.
Fishing
Fishing has been an essential economic activity since the town's settlement. Digby's schooner fishery reached its peak in the early 1900s, documented by the famous Canadian historian and photographer Frederick William WallaceFrederick William Wallace
Frederick William Wallace was a journalist, photographer, historian and novelist. He was the author of Wooden Ships and Iron Men, a now-classic 1924 book about the last days of the Age of Sail in Maritime Canada...
. In later years, trawlers, especially those harvesting scallops became the mainstay.
Transportation
Access to Digby is primarily by Highway 101Nova Scotia Highway 101
Highway 101 is an east-west highway in Nova Scotia that runs from Bedford to Yarmouth.The highway follows a route along the southern coast of the Bay of Fundy through the Annapolis Valley. Between its western terminus at Yarmouth to Weymouth, the highway is 2-lane controlled access. Between...
and by the M/V Princess of Acadia ferry service to Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
(operated by Bay Ferries Limited).
The Kings Transit
Kings Transit
Kings Transit Authority is a public transit agency operating buses in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. The system, incorporated in 1981, is funded by Kings County and the towns of Berwick, Wolfville and Kentville....
public transit system has stops in Digby at the Atlantic Superstore/Walmart, Sobeys/Canadian Tire, and the Digby General Hospital, although the bus can be hailed to stop at any location along Hwy 303 between Atlantic Superstore and the hospital. Buses going east or west bound are only available every other hour. The fare covers if you are travelling from Weymouth, Nova Scotia
Weymouth, Nova Scotia
-History:The area was settled in the 1760s by New England Planters after the Acadian Expulsion. The town was formally founded by Loyalists in 1783 . Current day Weymouth was once called Weymouth Bridge, and Weymouth North was called Weymouth...
or to Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
.
Kings Transit Fares
| Adults / Seniors (Age 60+) | Children (5-11) | Children (under 5) |
|---|---|---|
| $3.50 | $1.75 | FREE |
There are three taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
companies that operate in Digby. They are Admiral Taxi, Basin Taxi, and Digby Cab. All three companies provide the same rates to riders.
Shopping and services
There are two groceries stores located in Digby, both Atlantic SuperstoreAtlantic Superstore
Atlantic Superstore is a Canadian supermarket chain of 54 stores in the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
and Sobeys
Sobeys
Sobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,300 supermarkets operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than $14 billion CAD in 2009...
. There is also a Wal-mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and a Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...
.
Restaurants include franchises such as two Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian fast casual restaurant known for its coffee and doughnuts. It is also Canada's largest fast food service with over 3000 stores nationwide. It was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade, after an initial venture in...
locations, Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, Pizza Delight
Pizza Delight
Pizza Delight is a Canadian pizza restaurant franchise. Founded in 1968 in Shediac, New Brunswick by Bernard Imbeault and two of his friends, its head offices are now located in the nearby city of Moncton. The restaurant serves mainly Pizza, Pasta, Salads...
, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
along with several other locally owned restaurants filling the downtown Water Street area. Most of the locally owned restaurants serve seafood dishes with a high concentration on scallops. Many restaurants close during the winter months due to the slow tourism during that time.
Downtown also has locally owned shops.
Circle K
Circle K
Circle K is an international chain of convenience stores, founded in 1951, in El Paso, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the Canadian-based Alimentation Couche-Tard.-Overview:...
, Ultramar
Ultramar
Ultramar is a Canadian oil refining and marketing company formerly known as Golden Eagle or Aigle d'or. Its head office is in Montreal...
, Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, and Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
have gas stations located in Digby.
There is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) station located on Victoria Street.
The Digby General Hospital, located on Warwick Street, provides basic medical care to the residents, including primary care, inpatient, restorative care, ambulatory, day surgery. Although they note on the website they provide emergency care, it is only available when a physician is available. Many patients are redirected to the hospital in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
or Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
in the case of an emergency.