The first sawmill in the Sherbrooke area was erected around 1809 by James Fisher, who came from Truro in 1805. In 1814, another sawmill and a grist mill were set up by David Archibald III, also from Truro, at the site of present-day Sherbrooke. The…

Joseph McLane, the first owner of blacksmith shop in Sherbrooke Village, was born in Onslow, Colchester County, on May 26, 1820, to Captain William and Margaret McLane. In 1837, the family moved to Stillwater near Sherbrooke. In 1844, Joseph McLane…

Before Sherbrooke had a church, the community gathered for worship at the village school. Meetings were also held in private homes.Once the community had the funds to build a church, the land was sold to a trustee by Henry and Sarah Cumminger. The…

In 1966, historian Robert Morgan and chemist Don Arseneau were teaching at Xavier Junior College (now Cape Breton University) and wanted a student project for Canada’s Centennial celebration. A few blocks away was the empty and deteriorating St.…

The St. Mary's Genealogy Research Centre at Sherbrooke Village is a relative newcomer to the Nova Scotia archival community. It was founded in 2011 by a dedicated group of local genealogists and historians in response to the need to provide a place…

Minudie is a fairly isolated area of Nova Scotia between the mouth of River Hebert and the Cumberland Basin. Originally occupied by the Mi’kmaq and later farmed by Acadians before the Deportation, the area became part of a grant made to Joseph…

Captain John Butler Wilson arrived in Sydney in 1785 and became the first captain of the Sydney Garrison. Soon thereafter, Captain Wilson met and married an Irish Catholic named Margaret Caverly. Unlike his wife, Captain Wilson was an Anglican. The…

In the spring of 1978, the senior high students of Port Hood Consolidated School put on a series of performances of William Gibson's three act play, The Miracle Worker. The majority of furnishings and artifacts for the set came from an historic…

The history of the Mahone Bay Museum began in 1979 when The Mahone Bay Founders Society formed to organize the celebration of Mahone Bay’s 225th Anniversary of the settlement in 1754. Various members in the community worked together to plan this…

Cliquez ici pour la version française In 1973, a group of interested citizens from West Pubnico met and decided to organize a historical society as a way to preserve their heritage. It now bears the name “Société historique acadienne de…