Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool (2001 pop.: 3,295) is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia. Liverpool is located along Trunk Route 3 ("The Lighthouse Route") and at the junction of major Highway 103 (at Exit 19) and Trunk Route 8 ("The Kejimkujik Scenic Drive") which leads to the Bay of Fundy.

History

Liverpool's harbour was long a seasonal camp of Nova Scotia's native Mi'kmaq and was known as Ogomkigeak meaning "dry sandy place" and Ogukegeok, meaning "place of departure". The harbour was originally named Port Rossignol by Samuel de Champlain, the early 17th century founder of New France in North America, after a Captain Rossignol who was at that time using the harbour for fur trading.^[1] Later Nicolas Denys, a pioneering 17th century French explorer and trader of Nova Scotia, was granted land here by the leader of Acadia, Isaac de Razilly (c. 1632).^[2] The inner harbour near the mouth of the Mersey River later became the site of a small 18th century Acadian settlement known as Lingley.

Following the Expulsion of the Acadians during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Liverpool was founded by New England Planters (commercially organized settlers) as a fishing port in 1759, and was named after Liverpool in England—which also lies along its own Mersey River. The town was strengthened after the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) by additional arrivals from the American colonial Loyalist refugees.

American Revolution

Liverpool's struggle for identity during the revolutionary war has been the subject of considerable study by historians.^[3] The town was at first sympathetic to the cause of the American Revolution, but after repeated attacks by American privateers on local shipping interests and one direct attack on the town itself, Liverpool citizens turned against the rebellion. Ports on either side of Liverpool - Port Medway and Port Mouton - were almost continuously at the service of the Americans throughout the war.^[4]

Raid on Liverpool (1778)

On April 24, 1778, the HMS Blonde under the command of Captain Milligan ran aground the French ship Duc de Choiseul under the command of Captain Pattier in Liverpool Harbour. There was an exchange of cannon fire for over three hours. A number of the French crew were killed, drowned and wounded. The 100 remaining French crew were taken prisoner. The arms that were on the wrecked ship continued to attract American privateers over the following month. Consequently, on May 1, American privateers raided Liverpool, ravaging and pillaging a number of the houses and stores, including the store of Simeon Perkins, a significant town leader. Three weeks later, on May 21, the same privateers returned and tried to tow the wreck of the Duc de Choiseul out to sea. Perkins mustered ten men at the shore. Canon fire was exchanged by the British militia and the American privateers. The privateers continued to fire at the town for almost an hour. Perkins marched his men along the shore, closer to the privateers. One of the militia was wounded in the ensuing exchanges. The privateers stayed off shore for a number of days. Perkins kept a sergeant and six men on guard duty twenty four hours a day until the privateers left the area.^[5]

After suffering three years of similar sporadic raids, the people of Liverpool, on June 2, 1779 built a battery for the artillery and on October 31 launched their own privateer vessel named Lucy to bring battle to their adversaries. ^[6]

Raid on Liverpool (1780)

The most dramatic privateer raid occurred on September 13, 1780, when two American privateers captured the fort in the town and took some of the men prisoners. Simeon Perkins engineered the capture of one of the privateer captains, and arranged for the recovery of the fort and the release of the prisoners. Within a few hours “every thing [was] restored to its former Situation without any Blood Shed.” Liverpool was not bothered by privateers for the remainder of the war.^[7]

War of 1812

During the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, Liverpool financed and manned many privateer vessels which primarily targeted French vessels in the West Indies and American shipping off the Nova Scotia and New England coasts. The port was notable for such privateer vessels as the brig Rover and the schooner Liverpool Packet, mariners such as Joseph Barss, and ships' chandlers and merchants such as Enos Collins and Simeon Perkins. Significantly, an exciting eye-witness account of this turbulent period can be found in the published diaries of Simeon Perkins (1735–1812), an important businessman and leader in early Liverpool, having arrived from Connecticut in 1762 with the early settlers, and remaining an active member of the town for 50 years until his death in 1812.

Nineteenth century

During the nineteenth century, the town became a major seaport as the fishing and ship building industries grew. The town also became a leading exporter of timber which was floated down the Mersey River (or as initially called the Rivière Rossignol by the original Acadians) from the inland forests of the Lake Rossignol watershed. For a time after the War of 1812, Liverpool was second only to Halifax as the major port in the province, but was later eclipsed by western ports on the north shore of the province such as Pictou and New Glasgow on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The mid-nineteenth century move toward steam-powered vessels which were built with steel, ruined the area's vibrant wooden-ship building industry, and the further financial dislocation caused by the collapse of the local Bank of Liverpool in 1871 combined to severely hurt the town's economy and it went into a slow decline. Liverpool's fortunes were temporarily revived in the 1920s when it became a centre for rum-runners shipping alcohol to the United States during its period of prohibition. More significant growth took place in 1929 when the Mersey Pulp and Paper Mill was completed in the adjoining village of Brooklyn. World War II also bolstered the economy reviving the town's shipyard with repairs to naval corvettes and minesweepers.

In 1996, Liverpool disincorporated as a town and merged with the Municipality of the County of Queens to form the Region of Queens Municipality.

Geography

Liverpool is situated on the Atlantic coast along Nova Scotia's South Shore. The community primarily occupies the west bank of the mouth of the Mersey River and along its harbour front faces opposite the smaller community of Brooklyn which is situated on the east bank of the River. Beyond Liverpool, the river widens to become an estuary called Liverpool Bay, which is partially sheltered by Coffin Island, and there melds into the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Stream which passes just to the east of Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean provides Liverpool with a year-round temperate northern climate.

Climate

Economy

Liverpool, as the largest population centre in Queens County, has a lively business community. Many large business franchises provide modern convenience, while the community's diverse quaint small shops still thrive in the original business district on Main Street. Commercial and recreational fishing still play an important role in the local economy. Liverpool's largest employer is the Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited, which operates a pulp mill and newsprint mill situated in nearby Brooklyn.

Tourism

Tourism has become increasingly important to Liverpool and the South Shore region in recent decades, particularly as tourists travel the "Lighthouse Route" a scenic drive between Halifax and Yarmouth. Liverpool has a large number of museums for a small community. They include the Queens County Museum, the adjacent Perkins House (the 1760s built residence of Simeon Perkins referenced supra), the Hank Snow Museum for country music located in the old Liverpool train station, and several private museums run by Nova Scotian photographer Sherman Hines. Facing Liverpool harbour is the Fort Point Lighthouse, the third oldest lighthouse in Nova Scotia which contains a lighthouse museum and is surrounded by a public park. Additionally, in early July of each year history comes alive in Liverpool during "Privateer Days" when over a long weekend members of the community conduct a parade, provide various entertainment venues, re-enact a privateer encampment, shoot fireworks, and conduct guided graveyard tours. Liverpool has also become a summer break destination for residents of Halifax due to its warm weather and nearby sandy beaches.

References

• A History of Queens County (1873) James F. More