Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia
, Canada
. It is the shire town of Shelburne County
.
, but most of the inhabitants' income from that time to the present have been derived from the sea.
Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine
. The large and well sheltered harbour was known to the Mi'kmaq as Logumkeegan or Sogumkeagum.
The first Europeans to make a settlement on these shores were the French
Acadians. They set up a small fishing settlement known as Port Razoir in the late 17th century, named after the harbour's resemblance to an open razor
. The Acadian fishing settlement was abandoned after repeated New England privateer
raids in 1705 and 1708.
In the summer of 1715, New England privateer Cyprian Southback attempted to create a permanent fishing station at a place he named "Cape Roseway" (now known as Shelburne). Shortly after he established himself, the Mi'kmaq raided the station and burned it to the ground. In response, Southback led a raid on Canso, Nova Scotia
(1718) and encouraged Governor Phillips to fortify Canso.
New England fishermen knew Shelburne as "Port Roseway" and frequently used the outer harbour for seasonal shelter and repairs. Pirate Ned Low raided the New England fishing fleet at Shelburne Harbour in 1723, capturing 13 ships. After the Acadian Expulsion in 1755, there were no settlers for several decades despite an abortive settlement attempt by Alexander McNutt in 1765.
In the spring of 1783, more than 5,000 settlers arrived on the shores of Shelburne Harbour from New York
and the Middle Colonies
of the Thirteen Colonies
. These settlers were Loyalists
(referred to later in Canada as United Empire Loyalists
), Americans who had opposed the Revolution
and remained loyal to Britain. Opposition to the Revolution, as well as government promises of free land, tools, and provisions lured many to British North America
at that time. Four hundred families associated to form a town at Port Roseway, which Governor Parr renamed Shelburne later that year, after Lord Shelburne
, the British prime minister
. This group was led by the Port Roseway Associates, who had formed while still in New York and petitioned Governor Parr for the land. A large group of Africans who had escaped American slavery arrived in Shelburne Harbour at the same time where they founded Birchtown
next to Shelburne as North America's largest free Black settlement.
In the fall of 1783, a second wave of settlers arrived in Shelburne. By 1784, the population of this new community is estimated to have been 17,000, making it the fourth largest city in North America. However, the initial prosperity was short-lived as a lack of agricultural land, poor inland transportation links, and lack of some necessary skills for settlement, soon curtailed economic growth. The population fell sharply by the 1790s, leaving many abandoned buildings. However, the remaining residents gradually developed the harbour potential as a fishing
and shipbuilding
centre.
, was the area from which supplies of flour
, pork
, and salt
were dispensed to the Loyalists by the Commissary General, Mr. Brinley. Later, this area became the shipyard of Joseph McGill. The Cox family also built their own ships and conducted extensive international trade
. The former MacKay shipyard was located in Shelburne at Black's Brook. Donald McKay
, famous in the United States
for the clipper
s which he built at Boston
, began his shipbuilding career in Shelburne. He was born at Jordan Falls in 1810, and left the area at the age of 16 to apprentice in New York
. Shelburne shipyards built many fishing schooners in the banks fishing era as well as a notable research yacht inspired by fishing schooners, the schooner Blue Dolphin
in 1926.
from Scotland
. The present day Christ Church (Anglican) is on the site of the original building of the same name, which was designed by Loyalist Isaac Hildreth and consecrated by Bishop Charles Inglis in 1790. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1971. Tottie's Store is thought to have been built by John Tottie about the year 1800.
In 1787, government distribution of provisions to the new settlers was terminated. Within a few years, houses were put up for sale, and settlers left for England
, New Brunswick
, Upper Canada
, and the United States
. In the 1820s, the population of Shelburne had dwindled to about 300.
Fishing remains a primary industry today. Other economic activities include logging
, fish processing, and the manufacture of barrel
s, institutional furniture
, granite
monuments, and marine suppliers.
The present weekly newspaper, The Coast Guard, is published at the same intersection where newspapers had been published as early as 1784, including the General Advertiser, the Port Roseway Gazetteer and Shelburne Advertiser, and the American Gazette.
during the American Revolution. In 1994, Dock Street and area was the location of a major film, The Scarlet Letter
, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel depicting Puritan New England in the mid 17th century. Some of the buildings on Dock Street still retain the grey-tone paint finishes used for the film. Other movies made in Shelburne were Virginia's Run
and Wilby Wonderful
. In 2008 an old naval station in the Shelburne area was sold to a group who plan to make more movies at a sound stage located on the station. In 2009, filming for portions of the 2-part TV miniseries Moby Dick was carried out in Shelburne. The Whaleman's Chapel was recreated on the waterfront and the Spouter's Inn recreated in Cox's Warehouse. The movie stars William Hurt as Ahab, Gillian Anderson as his wife Elizabeth, Ethan Hawke as Starbuck and Donald Sutherland as Father Mappel.
. It joined the Western Counties Regional Library on June 5, 1969 but it did not have a physical location in Shelburne until the first branch opened on February 15, 1970. The branch relocated to its present site on July 21, 1989.
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...
, Canada
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...
. It is the shire town of Shelburne County
Shelburne County, Nova Scotia
Shelburne County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:Shelburne County was founded in 1784 shortly following the influx of Loyalist settlers evacuated from the newly independent United States of America...
.
History
Settlers
Early settlers had small subsistence farmsSubsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
, but most of the inhabitants' income from that time to the present have been derived from the sea.
Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. The large and well sheltered harbour was known to the Mi'kmaq as Logumkeegan or Sogumkeagum.
The first Europeans to make a settlement on these shores were the French
French colonization of the Americas
The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America...
Acadians. They set up a small fishing settlement known as Port Razoir in the late 17th century, named after the harbour's resemblance to an open razor
Straight razor
A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle. They are also called open razors and cut-throat razors.Although straight razors were once the principal method of manual shaving, they have been largely overshadowed by the safety razor, incorporating a disposable blade...
. The Acadian fishing settlement was abandoned after repeated New England privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
raids in 1705 and 1708.
In the summer of 1715, New England privateer Cyprian Southback attempted to create a permanent fishing station at a place he named "Cape Roseway" (now known as Shelburne). Shortly after he established himself, the Mi'kmaq raided the station and burned it to the ground. In response, Southback led a raid on Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1718) and encouraged Governor Phillips to fortify Canso.
New England fishermen knew Shelburne as "Port Roseway" and frequently used the outer harbour for seasonal shelter and repairs. Pirate Ned Low raided the New England fishing fleet at Shelburne Harbour in 1723, capturing 13 ships. After the Acadian Expulsion in 1755, there were no settlers for several decades despite an abortive settlement attempt by Alexander McNutt in 1765.
In the spring of 1783, more than 5,000 settlers arrived on the shores of Shelburne Harbour from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the Middle Colonies
Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies comprised the middle region of the Thirteen Colonies of the British Empire in Northern America. In 1776 during the American Revolution, the Middle Colonies became independent of Britain as the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.Much of the area was part of...
of the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
. These settlers were Loyalists
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
(referred to later in Canada as United Empire Loyalists
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...
), Americans who had opposed the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and remained loyal to Britain. Opposition to the Revolution, as well as government promises of free land, tools, and provisions lured many to British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
at that time. Four hundred families associated to form a town at Port Roseway, which Governor Parr renamed Shelburne later that year, after Lord Shelburne
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
, the British prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
. This group was led by the Port Roseway Associates, who had formed while still in New York and petitioned Governor Parr for the land. A large group of Africans who had escaped American slavery arrived in Shelburne Harbour at the same time where they founded Birchtown
Birchtown, Nova Scotia
Birchtown is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located near Shelburne in the Barrington Municipal District of Shelburne County. Founded in 1783, it is famous as the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and was the largest free settlement of Africans in North America in the 18th...
next to Shelburne as North America's largest free Black settlement.
In the fall of 1783, a second wave of settlers arrived in Shelburne. By 1784, the population of this new community is estimated to have been 17,000, making it the fourth largest city in North America. However, the initial prosperity was short-lived as a lack of agricultural land, poor inland transportation links, and lack of some necessary skills for settlement, soon curtailed economic growth. The population fell sharply by the 1790s, leaving many abandoned buildings. However, the remaining residents gradually developed the harbour potential as a fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
centre.
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is a historically significant industry. The first vessel launched at Shelburne was the 181-ton Roseway, built for MacLean and Bogle in 1786. Commissary Island, now a peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
, was the area from which supplies of flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
were dispensed to the Loyalists by the Commissary General, Mr. Brinley. Later, this area became the shipyard of Joseph McGill. The Cox family also built their own ships and conducted extensive international trade
International trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...
. The former MacKay shipyard was located in Shelburne at Black's Brook. Donald McKay
Donald McKay
Donald McKay was a Canadian-born American designer and builder of sailing ships.He was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne County on Nova Scotia's South Shore. In 1826 he moved to New York, working for shipbuilders Brown & Bell and Isaac Webb...
, famous in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
s which he built at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, began his shipbuilding career in Shelburne. He was born at Jordan Falls in 1810, and left the area at the age of 16 to apprentice in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Shelburne shipyards built many fishing schooners in the banks fishing era as well as a notable research yacht inspired by fishing schooners, the schooner Blue Dolphin
Blue Dolphin (schooner)
Blue Dolphin was an auxiliary schooner built in 1926 at Shelburne, Nova Scotia by the Shelburne Shipbuilding Company as an adventure yacht. She served as US Navy auxiliary, IX 65 in World War II and as a postwar research vessel made famous by a Stan Rogers song.Blue Dolphin was designed by the...
in 1926.
Buildings
Many of Shelburne's buildings date back to Loyalist times. The Shelburne County Museum is a restored home built in 1787 by David Nairn, a cooperCooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The present day Christ Church (Anglican) is on the site of the original building of the same name, which was designed by Loyalist Isaac Hildreth and consecrated by Bishop Charles Inglis in 1790. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1971. Tottie's Store is thought to have been built by John Tottie about the year 1800.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the 1820s, the population of Shelburne had dwindled to about 300.
Present Day
Although much smaller today, Shelburne remains the capital of the county which bears its name. It was incorporated as a town on April 4, 1907. The population in 2007 was 2013. Many descendants of the original Loyalists still live in the area today.Fishing remains a primary industry today. Other economic activities include logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, fish processing, and the manufacture of barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
s, institutional furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
monuments, and marine suppliers.
The present weekly newspaper, The Coast Guard, is published at the same intersection where newspapers had been published as early as 1784, including the General Advertiser, the Port Roseway Gazetteer and Shelburne Advertiser, and the American Gazette.
Climate
Film production
In 1992, Dock Street was the location for the filming of Mary Silliman's War, based on a true story depicting Fairfield, ConnecticutFairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
during the American Revolution. In 1994, Dock Street and area was the location of a major film, The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter (1995 film)
The Scarlet Letter is a 1995 American film adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name. It was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, and Robert Duvall. This version was "freely adapted" from Hawthorne and deviated from the original story. Universally panned by...
, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel depicting Puritan New England in the mid 17th century. Some of the buildings on Dock Street still retain the grey-tone paint finishes used for the film. Other movies made in Shelburne were Virginia's Run
Virginia's Run
Virginia's Run is a 2002 Canadian-American independent family drama/coming of age film.-Plot:Virginia is a 13 year old girl living in Nova Scotia with her older sister Caroline and her father Ford . Her mother was killed 3 years earlier in a horse riding accident...
and Wilby Wonderful
Wilby Wonderful
Wilby Wonderful is a 2004 film by Daniel MacIvor. The film is a comedic drama about 24 hours in the life of the small town of Wilby, where the municipal festival is in preparation. It focuses on the changes occurring in the lives of several different inhabitants as development comes to the island...
. In 2008 an old naval station in the Shelburne area was sold to a group who plan to make more movies at a sound stage located on the station. In 2009, filming for portions of the 2-part TV miniseries Moby Dick was carried out in Shelburne. The Whaleman's Chapel was recreated on the waterfront and the Spouter's Inn recreated in Cox's Warehouse. The movie stars William Hurt as Ahab, Gillian Anderson as his wife Elizabeth, Ethan Hawke as Starbuck and Donald Sutherland as Father Mappel.
Public library
Located at 17 Glasgow Street in Shelburne, the McKay Memorial Library is one of the larger branches of the Western Counties Regional LibraryWestern Counties Regional Library
The Western Counties Regional Library is a regional public library with 10 branches serving the counties of Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth in southwestern Nova Scotia...
. It joined the Western Counties Regional Library on June 5, 1969 but it did not have a physical location in Shelburne until the first branch opened on February 15, 1970. The branch relocated to its present site on July 21, 1989.