Pictou Harbour

Pictou Harbour is a natural harbour in Nova Scotia on the Northumberland Strait.[1] It is roughly 5km long.

The distance between the town of Pictou on the north shore, and the community of Pictou Landing to the south is about 1km. The harbour then opens into the broad mouth of the East River of Pictou which flows inland through the towns of Trenton and New Glasgow. The south-west end of the harbour is terminated by the Harvey Veniot causeway that carries Nova Scotia Highway 106. Prior to the opening of the causeway in 1968,[2] the harbour continued into the confluence of the West River and Middle River.

The body of water immediately outside the harbour is known as the Pictou Road.[3][4] The entrance to the harbour is protected by two sandbars and is about 400m wide. The sand bar on the southside is an 8ha Provincial Nature Reserve, comprising beaches and dunes that provide habitat for the endangered piping plover.[5] A lighthouse was installed on this bar in 1834 and lost to fire in 1903. Its replacement, a 55 foot octagonal tower was also destroyed by fire on July 5, 2004.[6]

History

The first settlers arrived in Pictou Harbour in 1767 on the Betsey from Philadelphia. The Hector arrived in 1773, bringing the first Scottish settlers to arrive in the province directly from Scotland. Timber was being exported to Britain from Pictou harbour as early as 1777 and the first ship was built there in 1788 by Thomas Copeland. By 1803, fifty vessels loaded squared timber for Britain.[7] The Harriet was launched in 1798 with a registered tonnage of 422 tons and is believed to be the largest built in Nova Scotia at the time.[8]

By 1830 coal was being brought from the inland towns by steamboat for transshipment and soon coal and iron were the chief exports through the harbour.[7] Pictou opened as a port of registry in 1840 and at that time was registering between 20 and 40 ships a year.[9] In 1874 the Customs House was built by the Dominion Government to collect tariffs and duties, and control goods and people flowing through the port, which was a significant port of entry at the time, and the main passenger connection with Upper Canada.[7]

Wharf and Intercolonial rail cars at Pictou, circa 1912

The first railway to reach Pictou Harbour was in 1867 when the Pictou extension of the Nova Scotia Railway reached Pictou Landing on the south shore of the harbour.[10] From there the railway company operated a steam-powered ferry to take passengers across the harbour where they could connect with ships leaving for Prince Edward Island and Montreal.[7] The Intercolonial Railway opened a line into Pictou town in 1887.[11]

On September 25, 1925 the cargo steamer Dieuze caught fire and sank outside the shipping lane. The captain was the only person aboard at the time and he survived. The wreck was rediscovered in 2015 during surveying work by the Canadian Hydrographic Service sitting upright on the bottom in 13.5 metre deep water, but it wasn't until divers explored the wreck that it could be identified.[12][13][14]

Pictou Shipyard was established during World War 2, causing the population of the town to triple,[15] and is notable for its construction of 24 Park ships over a two year period during World War 2,[16] and continues in business today.

Environment

Human settlement and industrial activity have impacted Pictou harbour since the 18th century through pollution, impacts on wilderness habitat and harvesting of renewable resources.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Pictou Harbour". Geographical Names Board of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Harvey A. Veniot causeway construction". Nova Story Digital Collections. Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 Cuttell, Patricia May (March 1988). "Increasing community capacity in coastal zone management" (PDF). Collections Canada. Library and Archives Canada. pp. 24–28. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Pictou Road". Geographical Names Board of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Lighthouse Beach Nature Reserve". Province of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Pictou Lighthouse in the Distance". Nova Story Digital Collections. Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Graham, Monica (2004). The Historic Town of Pictou. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 1-55109-501-7.
  8. ↑ Armour, Charles A; Lackey, Thomas (1975). Sailing Ships of the Maritimes. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. p. 16. ISBN 9780070777569.
  9. ↑ Armour, Charles A; Lackey, Thomas (1975). Sailing Ships of the Maritimes. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. p. 162. ISBN 9780070777569.
  10. ↑ "The "Pictou Extension" Railway". Nova Scotia's Electric Gleaner. Ivan Smith. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Inter Colonial Railway". Nova Story Digital Collections. Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Graham, Monica (July 25, 2015). "Shipwreck site in Pictou Harbour ‘amazing’: diver". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  13. ↑ Pate, David (Jul 25, 2015). "Pictou Harbour underwater expedition uncovers mystery wreck". CBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  14. ↑ Pate, David (Aug 1, 2015). "Pictou Harbour mystery wreck remembered". CBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  15. ↑ Bruce, Marian (2014). Saltwater Road. Wood islands and Area Development Corporation. p. 46. ISBN 9780973755657.
  16. ↑ "Park Ship S. S. Ashby Park 1944". Nova Story Digital Collections. Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library. Retrieved 8 August 2017.


Coordinates: 45°40′10″N 62°42′13″W / 45.6694°N 62.7035°W / 45.6694; -62.7035

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