The Parrsboro Shore is an area of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia consisting of the shoreline communities west of the town of Parrsboro. The Parrsboro Shore is generally defined as stretching along the Bay of Fundy from the town of Parrsboro westward around Cape Chignecto as far as Apple River. It includes the communities of Diligent River, Fox River, Port Greville, Ward's Brook, Fraserville, Spencer's Island, Advocate, the ghost town of Eatonville.[1] Linked by Nova Scotia's Route 209, the communities form part of the Fundy Shore Ecotour.[2]
The area is named because the communities form a hinterland for the town of Parrsboro. The Parrsboro Shore was once a major lumbering and shipbuilding centre producing 400 vessels.[3] The area's history is preserved at the Age of Sail Heritage Centre in Port Greville and at the Parrsboro Shore Historical Society at Ottawa House in Parrsboro.
References [link]
- ^ Stanley Spicer Sails of Fundy: The Schooners and Square-riggers of the Parrsboro Shore (Hantsport, NS: Lancelot Press, 1984), pp.13-14
- ^ Fundy Shore Ecotour
- ^ Avalon Highlands Region Fundy EcoZone
External links [link]
https://wn.com/Parrsboro_Shore
Parrsboro
Parrsboro is a Canadian town located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.
The town is known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions and the Fundy Geological Museum.
History
Before the arrival of European settlers, Parrsboro was a portage point for Mikmaq travellers along the Minas Basin and Cumberland County river systems. The native inhabitants called the region "Awokum," meaning a 'short-cut' or 'passing-over point.'
The first European settlers were the Acadians in 1670 at the western mouth of the Parrsboro Harbour, near Partridge Island. After they were expelled in 1755, they were replaced by New England Planters. The centre of settlement gradually shifted from Partridge Island to the head of the harbour as the harbour and surrounding mills grew. The settlement, at first named Mill Village, was renamed Parrsboro in honour of Nova Scotia Governor John Parr in 1784, and the town was incorporated on July 15, 1889.
Parrsboro thrived in the mid 19th century as the hub of a string of shipbuilding communities from Economy to Advocate collectively known as the "Parrsboro Shore". The town became a port of registry in 1850 for over 115 locally built schooners as well as giant square riggers, culminating in the largest, the ship Glooscap in 1891. In its peak years of the 1890s, over 1646 ships arrived and departed annually.
