Wine Harbour, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Wine Harbour is a community located in Guyborough County
along the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia
.
. This shore is studded with bays and inlets.
gives the area a semi-maritime climate with a delay of seasons as compared with inland areas; however, frequent offshore winds bring continental
-type weather with winter cold and summer heat. In late summer and fall, the area can be threatened by hurricanes or their extratropical remnants.
is quartzite
, which is almost entirely silicon dioxide
with little more than trace amounts of nutrient-bearing minerals; consequently, the soils are infertile. They are also so stony as to be non-arable. The dominant soil, a Gleyed Humo-Ferric Podzol under the Canadian system of soil classification
, is mapped as the Danesville Series. Somewhat stunted but well-exploited forests of black spruce
, white spruce
, tamarack and balsam fir
alternate with treeless barren
s and peat bogs. Pitcher plant
s and sundew
s are abundant in the bogs. The introduced white poplar
is escaping from cultivation. Many other exotic plant species remain confined to residents' gardens, often in raised beds or even discarded automobile tires to avoid the stones. Seaweed
, available at local beaches, is a very popular compost material.
was wrecked here. Its cargo flowed into the harbour, establishing the name. The Indian name was "Pebumkeegunech" which when translated to English means "fish spawning place" or "an outlet cut through the sand". In 1818, one family consisting of five persons settled here and cleared 10 acres (40,468.6 m²). This was probably the family of John Walters
, a native of North Carolina
and a veteran of the American Revolutionary War
who settled in Nova Scotia around 1811 or 1812.
By 1862, Wine Harbour was thriving rapidly. The main reason for its vigorous growth was the discovery of gold in July 1861 by Katie Doody and Joseph Smith, Sr.
which was the beginning of a great gold boom which lasted until 1905. The first crusher used was called the Victoria Crusher and it was run by water power. The procedure began when the rocks were hoisted out of the ground by horses, put on wooden scowls and brought across the harbour, if the wind was favorable, to the Victoria Crusher which was on the then Thomas Cooper
property. The surveyor for the mining company at this time was D. W. Crockett. At the peak of this gold boom there were ten crushers run by steam power using coal, which was brought from vessels from Sydney
. Because of the gold mine, Wine Harbour was one of the first settlements in Guysborough County to have electricity.
After 1905 the gold mining industry lay desolate until 1936 when C. Irving supervised the opening of the once prosperous gold mines. It died the following year and Wine Harbour lost its once booming industry forever. At the time of the gold mining industry Wine Harbour was also growing in other aspects. Thomas Lucas had a hotel and store and the Irwin family had a number of general stores throughout the area. A lobster factory was located in the area whose foreman was John Ballantyne and a blacksmith shop and a bank were also in the area. Postmaster at this time was John Gilles. St. Patrick’s Mission Church was built in 1857 to replace a larger church that had been destroyed by a hurricane. A Union Church was dedicated to Baptists, Anglicans and Presbyterians in 1897, and is no longer in existence. St. Patrick’s Mission Church has been vacant since 1955. * The first schoolhouse was built in 1869 and 85 pupils were registered at this time. Before this it was believed that the original Catholic Church was used during the week as a schoolroom for the children.
After 1905, limited farming, fishing and logging were the main industries and the 1956 population decreased to 50. Today the population of the community is about 25. Wine Harbour has lost its gold mines, its factories, most of its fishing, many of its forests, a church and the majority of its people. Its history will remain.
Guysborough County, Nova Scotia
Guysborough County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:Taking its name from the Township of Guysborough, which was named in honour of Sir Guy Carleton, Guysborough County was created when Sydney County was divided in 1836.In 1840, the Township of St. Mary's, in Guysborough...
along the Eastern Shore 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...
.
Natural setting
Wine Harbour is a rural area located on the east side of the harbour of the same name on the eastern shore of Nova ScotiaNova 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...
. This shore is studded with bays and inlets.
Climate
The presence of the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
gives the area a semi-maritime climate with a delay of seasons as compared with inland areas; however, frequent offshore winds bring continental
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
-type weather with winter cold and summer heat. In late summer and fall, the area can be threatened by hurricanes or their extratropical remnants.
Geology, Soils and Vegetation
The bedrockBedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
is quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
, which is almost entirely silicon dioxide
Silicon dioxide
The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula '. It has been known for its hardness since antiquity...
with little more than trace amounts of nutrient-bearing minerals; consequently, the soils are infertile. They are also so stony as to be non-arable. The dominant soil, a Gleyed Humo-Ferric Podzol under the Canadian system of soil classification
Canadian system of soil classification
The Canadian system of soil classification is more closely related to the American system than any other. They differ in several ways. The Canadian system is designed to cover only Canadian soils. The Canadian system dispenses with a sub-order hierarchical level. Solonetzic and Gleysolic soils are...
, is mapped as the Danesville Series. Somewhat stunted but well-exploited forests of black spruce
Black Spruce
Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...
, white spruce
White Spruce
Picea glauca is a species of spruce native to boreal forests in the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the...
, tamarack and balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
alternate with treeless barren
Barren vegetation
The term Barren vegetation, or just barren, describes an area where plant growth is sparse, stunted, or possesses little biodiversity. Poor growth may occur due to high winds, climate, salt spray, infertile or toxic soil, or heavy exploitation by man....
s and peat bogs. Pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
s and sundew
Sundew
Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement...
s are abundant in the bogs. The introduced white poplar
White Poplar
Populus alba, commonly called abele, silver poplar, silverleaf poplar, or white poplar, is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens . It is native from Spain and Morocco through central Europe to central Asia...
is escaping from cultivation. Many other exotic plant species remain confined to residents' gardens, often in raised beds or even discarded automobile tires to avoid the stones. Seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
, available at local beaches, is a very popular compost material.
History
A Portuguese vessel loaded with wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
was wrecked here. Its cargo flowed into the harbour, establishing the name. The Indian name was "Pebumkeegunech" which when translated to English means "fish spawning place" or "an outlet cut through the sand". In 1818, one family consisting of five persons settled here and cleared 10 acres (40,468.6 m²). This was probably the family of John Walters
John Walters
John Walters was a British radio producer and presenter and musician, educated at Durham University...
, a native of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and a veteran of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
who settled in Nova Scotia around 1811 or 1812.
By 1862, Wine Harbour was thriving rapidly. The main reason for its vigorous growth was the discovery of gold in July 1861 by Katie Doody and Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
which was the beginning of a great gold boom which lasted until 1905. The first crusher used was called the Victoria Crusher and it was run by water power. The procedure began when the rocks were hoisted out of the ground by horses, put on wooden scowls and brought across the harbour, if the wind was favorable, to the Victoria Crusher which was on the then Thomas Cooper
Thomas Cooper
Thomas Cooper may refer to:*Thomas Buchecker Cooper U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania*Thomas Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross , Scottish politician, judge and historian...
property. The surveyor for the mining company at this time was D. W. Crockett. At the peak of this gold boom there were ten crushers run by steam power using coal, which was brought from vessels from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Because of the gold mine, Wine Harbour was one of the first settlements in Guysborough County to have electricity.
After 1905 the gold mining industry lay desolate until 1936 when C. Irving supervised the opening of the once prosperous gold mines. It died the following year and Wine Harbour lost its once booming industry forever. At the time of the gold mining industry Wine Harbour was also growing in other aspects. Thomas Lucas had a hotel and store and the Irwin family had a number of general stores throughout the area. A lobster factory was located in the area whose foreman was John Ballantyne and a blacksmith shop and a bank were also in the area. Postmaster at this time was John Gilles. St. Patrick’s Mission Church was built in 1857 to replace a larger church that had been destroyed by a hurricane. A Union Church was dedicated to Baptists, Anglicans and Presbyterians in 1897, and is no longer in existence. St. Patrick’s Mission Church has been vacant since 1955. * The first schoolhouse was built in 1869 and 85 pupils were registered at this time. Before this it was believed that the original Catholic Church was used during the week as a schoolroom for the children.
After 1905, limited farming, fishing and logging were the main industries and the 1956 population decreased to 50. Today the population of the community is about 25. Wine Harbour has lost its gold mines, its factories, most of its fishing, many of its forests, a church and the majority of its people. Its history will remain.