Wallace, Nova Scotia

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Wallace is a village in the northwestern part of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Originally called Remsheg, meaning "the place between" in the Mi'kmaq language, the location was named Wallace by European settlers in honour of Scottish folk hero William Wallace, as well as the first colonial treasurer of Nova Scotia, Michael Wallace.

The village is located at the mouth of the Wallace River where it meets Wallace Bay, a sub basin of the Northumberland Strait. Wallace Harbour is deep and straight and at one time was well used by large ships hauling lumber, and quarry stone. The Wallace River is a major river in northern Cumberland County and was once home to quarries and lumber mills and used to transport their products by sailing ships. Many of these ships were built in Wallace and surrounding areas.

Construction of the Montreal and European Short Line Railway Company began on the north shore of Nova Scotia in 1888, with the aim being to link Oxford with Pictou and onward to a superport under consideration for Canso. The section between Oxford and Pictou opened in 1890 and was known as the "Short Line" - in reference to the shorter distance between New Brunswick and Pictou County, rather than following the main line south from New Brunswick to Truro. Wallace's importance as a shipping port, quarrying industries, and small-scale manufacturing, saw a spur line built from the Short Line at Wallace Station, approximately 3 kilometres inland, to the south of the village.

By the post-war years, Wallace's importance for marine traffic declined and its small shipping port had fallen into a state of disrepair - the Canadian Coast Guard even began decommissioning its lighthouses along the harbour. The railway connection was removed and rail service in the area was completely abandoned in the 1980s. The village's primary mode of transportation is by automobile and the village is situated on Highway 6 which hosts a scenic route named the Sunrise Trail.

Wallace remains a small service centre for northeastern Cumberland County and has an elementary school, volunteer fire department, several stores and businesses, and a community hall. There is also an excellent recreation complex including a tennis court, basketball court, baseball field and outdoor ice rink.

There are Anglican, Presbyterian and United Church of Canada Churches within the village. West of the village is the Wallace and Area Museum with many local artifacts and historic items on display.

Wallace is famous for its sandstone quarries. Wallace sandstone has a unique olive colour and can be found in many buildings around the Maritimes and eastern Canada. Originally used for everything from foundations and breakwaters to bridge abutments, today the sandstone is used mostly for a finishing material on buildings. Sandstone from Wallace has been used in the construction of legislature buildings in Charlottetown (Province House) and Halifax (Province House), and some buildings at Parliament Hill in Ottawa also contain Wallace sandstone. Despite many slow years, the quarry is still in operation, although on a much smaller scale than in the past.

Other local industries include: fishing, farming, and forestry.

Wallace is the birthplace of Simon Newcomb, a famous astronomer and mathematician.