Greenwood Cottage was completed in the early 1870s for John and Sarah Cumminger who moved there from Renova Cottage. John Cumminger (1827-1892) was part owner of a lumber mill and had shares in goldmining. He and his brother Samuel (1838-1879) owned…

To those involved, the problems plaguing the Al G. Kelly and Miller Brothers Circus in the early summer of 1963 would have simply looked like bad luck. Looking back, it was just the beginning of a voyage beset with obstacles and tragedy. Their plan…

Renova Cottage was built in the 1850’s for John Cumminger (1827-1892), who then sold it to his brother, Samuel (1838-1879), in 1871. In 1905, the house was sold to Dr. Lambert Densmore (1878-1968), who lived there with his family until 1919. Dr.…

Donald McDonald was the son of a Scottish settler, who came to Nova Scotia in 1802 and settled on interval lands at Sunnybrae, Pictou County. In 1847 at the age of 18, Donald McDonald came to Sherbrooke and opened a tailor shop, which he ran from…

Established in the 1860s, Cumminger Brothers’ General Store was owned and operated by John Cumminger (1827-1892) and his brother Samuel Cumminger (1838-1879). John was also a ship builder and master mariner and had shares in lumbering and gold…

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…

Prior to European settlement, the area now called Windsor was a group of islands surrounded by marshland, which were covered with saltwater at high tide. Through a system of dykes (levies), ditches, and one-way valves called arbiteaux, these marshes…

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.…