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,…

On the morning of July 25, 1917, at No. 12 Colliery in New Waterford, Nova Scotia a devastating mine explosion erupted causing many casualties. It remains the worst mining disaster to have occurred on Cape Breton Island. There were 270 men and boys…

On the northern boundary of Sydney, adjacent to the steel plant property, is Whitney Pier, a community that has traditionally been home to plant workers. Whitney Pier is known for being a remarkably diverse community, the product of an early-20th…