Seal Island, Nova Scotia

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Seal Island is an island on the outermost extreme of Southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, and is the southern most point of land of Nova Scotia. It is approximately 2.7 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. It is the biggest of a group of five islands which extend north for 7.5 miles. ^[1] The island was settled in the 1820s by two families from the Barrington area. Eventually the island contained two small villages, The East Side and The West Side. Year round habitation ceased in 1990 but both villages host summer residents, most of whom are families who once lived on the island. The West Side village is used by fishermen and bird watchers who bunk in the old cookhouse above the government wharf and has seen recent growth in the form of new sheds and fishermen's houses. The East Side has lost its wharf but retains a church used for a seasonal service. ^[2] It is home to the Seal Island Lighthouse which is the oldest wooden lighthouse in Nova Scotia and one of the oldest in Canada. The lighthouse was de-staffed in 1990.