Port Hastings 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...

 rural community in Inverness County

Inverness County, Nova Scotia

Inverness County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its territory is almost contiguous with the Municipality of Inverness County, which only excludes the town of Port Hawkesbury and First Nation reserves.-History:...

, 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...

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The community is located at the eastern end of the Canso Causeway

Canso Causeway

The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill causeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.The causeway crosses the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula...

 on Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

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History

The community was previously known as Plaster Cove.

The Inverness and Richmond Railway

Inverness and Richmond Railway

The Inverness and Richmond Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.The I&R traces its history to 1874 when the Inverness Railway Company was incorporated, changing its name to the Inverness Coal Field and Railway Company in 1875 and to the...

 was built from coal mines in Inverness

Inverness, Nova Scotia

Inverness is a Canadian rural community in Inverness County, Nova Scotia. In 2001 its population was 2,496.Located on the west coast of Cape Breton Island fronting the Gulf of St...

 to a loading dock at Point Tupper in 1901. The construction of the Canso Causeway which opened in 1955 saw the community become a railway junction after the Truro

Truro, Nova Scotia

-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...

-Sydney

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....

 mainline of Canadian National Railways (CNR) was diverted from the railcar ferry terminal at Point Tupper

Point Tupper, Nova Scotia

Point Tupper is a small rural community located in Richmond County, Nova Scotia on the Strait of Canso in western Cape Breton Island.-History:...

. The CNR line to Inverness was eventually abandoned in the 1980s, although the Truro-Sydney mainline continues to operate under the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway

Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway

The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Sydney and Truro with spurs at Sydney, Point Tupper, Trenton and Stellarton....

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The construction of the Canso Causeway also brought what would become the Trans-Canada Highway

Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...

 (Highway 105

Nova Scotia Highway 105

Highway 105 in Nova Scotia represents the Cape Breton Island leg of the Trans-Canada Highway. It runs from the junction just east of the Canso Causeway in Port Hastings to the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in North Sydney, representing a distance of ....

 through the community. A traffic circle

Traffic circle

A traffic circle or rotary is a type of circular intersection in which traffic must travel in one direction around a central island. In some countries, traffic entering the circle has the right-of-way and drivers in the circle must yield. In many other countries, traffic entering the circle must...

 creates an important interchange with Highway 105, Highway 19 and Highway 4 several hundred metres east of the Canso Canal Bridge

Canso Canal Bridge

The Canso Canal Bridge is a swing bridge in Nova Scotia, Canada.The bridge is a rotating swing bridge that crosses the Canso Canal at the eastern end of the Canso Causeway...

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The growth of automobile-focused tourism following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 saw several motels and gas stations and a tourist information centre located at the traffic circle.

The community is home to the Port Hastings Museum which documents local history, including that of the Canso Causeway.

Climate