Electricity made its first bright appearance on the North Shore of Nova Scotia during the week of July 11, 1928. Northumberland Light and Power Company Limited brought light and power to residents and businesses in Malagash, Pugwash, River John,…

Among the passengers on the ship Murdoch that arrived in Halifax Harbour in 1751 was a young officer by the name of Joseph Pernette. The Murdoch was one of several ships bringing German, French, and Swiss immigrants. Known as “Foreign Protestants,”…

Established in 1890, the Dominion Chair Company, has a long history in Bass River. While the company endured many hardships, the Dominion Chair Company became one of Colchester County’s major industries. The company sold chairs across Canada and to…

Throughout history, everywhere around the world, courageous individuals braved new lands in search of a better life for themselves and their families. For Yarmouth, those people were the families of Sealed Landers, Ebenezer Ellis, and Moses Perry.…

Not much remains of a once thriving industry in Lower Ship Harbour known locally as the “Peg Factory." Built on Weeks Lake where the lake meets Ship Harbour River, John Lewis Industries' peg factory started up in 1922 after having shut down a…

The canning of shellfish, such as clams, lobster, crab, and oysters, developed as an industry around the early 1900s when equipment, canning materials, and a general knowledge of the science of canning coincided with a demand for canned goods.…

In 1844, two loggers discovered iron ore seams near their mill on the Great Village River. The site was visited by world-famous geologists who determined it would be economically viable to mine. A report in the British Parliament on 9 November 1847…

The steel plant in Sydney, Cape Breton, opened in 1901. It promised to be a modern facility with state-of-the-art Coke Ovens and an advanced steel making process. After the First World War, the steel industry experienced a recession, which caused…

From 1907 to 1911, teams from Pictou County mining communities dominated the Nova Scotia Cricket League, prompting a Westville newspaper correspondent to describe the county as “the home of cricket.” Westville won the championship from 1907 to 1909,…

Following the Second World War, the federal government sought to develop nuclear energy in Canada. The Crown Corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), was established in 1952 for nuclear energy research and development. By 1962, AECL had…