Kennetcook
is a community in the
Canadian
province of
Nova Scotia
, located in the
Municipal District of East Hants
. Also see adjacent community of
Upper Kennetcook
.
History
[
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]
The village takes its name from the
Kennetcook River
which is believed to come from a
Mi'kmaq
word meaning "The Place Further Ahead or The Place Nearby".
[1]
The river was an important east-west canoe and portage route for the Mi'kmaq people connecting the Piziquid (Windsor) area with the canoe routes and settlement areas along the
Shubenacadie River
. A trail from Halifax to the Acadian settlements at
Noel
on the Minas Basin crossed the Kennetcook River at a ford near the site of the village, making it an early crossroads.
[2]
After the American Revolution, the village was part of the Douglas Township, which was named after
Sir Charles Douglas, 1st Baronet
. The village was settled by the troops of the
84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
for their service in the war, protecting Nova Scotia from ongoing American Patriot attacks by land and sea.
Joseph Salter
, the noted shipbuilder and first mayor of
Moncton, New Brunswick
, was born in Kennetcook in 1816.
In 1901, the
Midland Railway
was built through the village enhancing the crossroads as a retail and service centre for the area. Kennetcook grew to host a hotel by the station, a bank and several stores. The Midland was acquired by the
Dominion Atlantic Railway
in 1905 and later by the
Canadian Pacific
which added further rail traffic as well as shipping farm products and lumber from Kennetcook through connections to
Windsor
and
Truro
. Highway construction after World War Two undermine railway traffic leading to the end of passenger and regular freight service in 1979 and removal of the railway in 1983.
[3]
Bridges and transportation
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]
A covered bridge spanned the
Kennetcook River
until 1967. This was the last
covered bridge
in Nova Scotia.
[4]
Currently, efforts are underway to revitalize the downtown through development and implementation of an
economic development
plan.
[5]
This development plan will include the construction of an
amphitheatre
, multi-purpose center, commercial development space and the re-construction of the
covered bridge
.
Kennetcook was also known for its
Douglas Township
celebration every year.
Literary connections
[
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]
The "Father of Canadian Poetry" Sir
Charles G.D. Roberts
wrote a fictional story that was set just before the
Expulsion of the Acadians
(1755). The story is an account of a Mi'kmaq raid on British settlers in Kennetcook entitled "Raid on Kennetcook" (alternatively titled "Raid from Beausejour"). Roberts wrote the story in 1894 while he worked at
University of King's College
, which was then located in
Windsor, Nova Scotia
.
In 1953, the noted Canadian poet
Alden Nowlan
graduated from the Folk School located in the Kennetcook Hotel (present-day Law Office).
Notable residents
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]
References
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]
External links
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]
45°10′41″N
63°43′19″W
/
45.178°N 63.722°W
/
45.178; -63.722