Elmsdale is an unincorporated 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...

 community located on the boundary of Hants

Hants County, Nova Scotia

Hants County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia which was the home of Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Alden Nowlan and Noel Doiron. The county of Hants was created June 17, 1781, and consisted of the townships of Windsor, Falmouth and Newport...

 and Halifax

Halifax County, Nova Scotia

Halifax County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.The Municipality of the County of Halifax was the municipal government of Halifax County, apart from the separately incorporated towns and cities therein...

 counties in 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...

.

Specifically, the community is divided by the Shubenacadie River

Shubenacadie River

The Shubenacadie River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada.It has a meander length of approximately 72 km from its source at Shubenacadie Grand Lake to its mouth at the historic seaport village of Maitland on Cobequid Bay, site of the building of the William D. Lawrence, the largest wooden ship ever...

, with the eastern half being in the Halifax Regional Municipality and the western half being in the Municipality of the District of East Hants

East Hants, Nova Scotia

East Hants is a municipal district in Hants County, Nova Scotia.With its administrative seat in Milford Station, the district occupies the eastern half of Hants County from the Minas Basin to the boundary with Halifax County, sharing this boundary with the West Hants municipal district...

. In 2006 its population was 2,672.

Elmsdale owes its early growth to the construction of the Shubenacadie Canal

Shubenacadie Canal

The Shubenacadie Canal is a Canadian canal in central Nova Scotia, linking Halifax Harbour with Shubenacadie Grand Lake which drains into the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River. Currently small craft use the river and lakes, but no locks are fully operational...

 and the Nova Scotia Railway

Nova Scotia Railway

The Nova Scotia Railway is a historic Canadian railway. It was composed of two lines, one connecting Richmond with Windsor, the other connecting Richmond with Pictou via Truro....

. Demand for workers on these projects, brought many new families into the area. One of the earliest was William Read who was granted 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of land in 1785 at the confluence of the Nine Mile River and the Shubenacadie River

Shubenacadie River

The Shubenacadie River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada.It has a meander length of approximately 72 km from its source at Shubenacadie Grand Lake to its mouth at the historic seaport village of Maitland on Cobequid Bay, site of the building of the William D. Lawrence, the largest wooden ship ever...

.

In 1852 Alexander Fraser built the first house in what is now in the village proper, about 100 yards (91.4 m) from the railway crossing. In the next six years more houses were constructed near the crossing, including a hotel and a boarding house

Boarding house

A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...

 for railway workers.

The Elmsdale Presbyterian Church was completed in 1862. Its pastor, Rev. John Cameron and family came from Nine Mile River to live in the large residence he had built on the crest of a gentle slope overlooking the village. This house is still in existence and is currently The Briarwood Bed and Breakfast.