The Aspotogan Peninsula () is a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
in the eastern part of
Lunenburg County,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, separating
St. Margarets Bay in the east from
Mahone Bay
Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands, and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the Mahone Islands Conservation Association has been working to prot ...
in the west. The peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants on the east (St. Margarets Bay) side and by second generation German immigrants on the west (Mahone Bay) side. Traditionally fishing was a major industry for communities throughout the peninsula, however other primary industries such as farming and forestry were historically important as well. Shipping and shipbuilding were secondary and tertiary industries that also came into prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Communities
The coast of the Aspotogan Peninsula is dotted with a number of small fishing and tourist-related communities;
Hubbards in the northeast being the largest. Other communities going from Hubbards clockwise around the peninsula include
Fox Point,
Mill Cove
Mill Cove () is a cove entered between Cape Anderson and Valette Island on the south coast of Laurie Island, in the South Orkney Islands off Antarctica. It was charted in 1903 by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition under William Speirs Bru ...
,
Birchy Head,
The Lodge,
Northwest Cove,
Southwest Cove,
Aspotogan,
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
,
New Harbour,
Blandford
Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and i ...
,
Upper Blandford,
Deep Cove, and
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
.
Route 329 circles the peninsula along the coast while
Trunk 3 and
Highway 103 pass to the north.
History: Eighteenth century
The name Aspotogan is a corruption of Ashmutogun or Ukpudeskakun meaning "block the passageway or where the seals go in and out". Because the high land of the Aspotogan is the highest on the south shore, the land was used as a marker for sailors coming from Europe and the West Indies on their way to Hallfax. Along with the
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
, there were primarily three strains of immigrants who settled the Aspotogan Peninsula: first the
Newfoundland Irish
The Irish language was once widely spoken on the island of Newfoundland before largely disappearing there by the early 20th century.[New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ( ...]
arrived from
Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester is a village on the Chester Peninsula, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. The nearby waters of Mahone Bay and its numerous islands are well known for yachting and have made the Chester Yacht Club into a cruising destination. A provi ...
(1760s) and, finally, second generation
Foreign Protestants
The Foreign Protestants were a group of French Lutheran and German Protestant immigrants to Nova Scotia. They largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town of Göttingen) and Dutch Village Road as well as Lunenburg. ...
arrived from
French Village, Nova Scotia
French Village is a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Chebucto Peninsula. French village initially included present day villages of Tantallon, Glen Haven and French Village. The Frenc ...
and
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia.
The economy was traditionally based on the offshore fishery and today L ...
(1780s). The community of
Blandford, Nova Scotia
Blandford is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route (Nova Scotia Route 329). Blandford originally included the present day communities of ...
was the first community on the Aspotogan to be settled. The first recorded school house was built in
Mill Cove, Nova Scotia
Mill Cove is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route
The Lighthouse Route is a scenic roadway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. I ...
(before 1833).
Mi'kmaq
The Aspotogan was first settled by
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
who were a nomadic people. Mi'kmaq sites have been found in Fox Point, Northwest Cove, the village of Aspotogan and East River. They would settle along the Atlantic coast in the summer and move in land to the lakes in the winter. They lived on the Aspotogan until the beginning of World War II (1939).
Newfoundland Irish
The Acadians never lived on the Aspotogan Peninsula; however, their presence in Nova Scotia significantly influenced immigration to the colony. Even forty years after the British conquest of Nova Scotia (1710), the population of Nova Scotia was still dominated by Catholic Acadians (population 10,000). To off set the Catholic population, with the founding of Halifax (1749), the British created an immigration policy to attract Protestants to the colony.
Apart from the Foreign Protestants, the first immigrants to settle the Aspotogan Peninsula may have been Newfoundland Irish, who were Catholics. By 1750, there were 3500
Newfoundland Irish
The Irish language was once widely spoken on the island of Newfoundland before largely disappearing there by the early 20th century.[New Harbour, Nova Scotia
New Harbour, is a small community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in Guysborough County
Guysborough County is a county in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pr ...]
and Hollahan Lake in
Deep Cove, Nova Scotia
Deep Cove is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route (Nova Scotia Route 329
Route 329 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nov ...
. These Newfoundland Irish are sometimes referred to "three boaters", moving from Ireland to Newfoundland, then to Nova Scotia, before finally settling in Boston.
New England Planters
Prior to 1767, the Protestants who settled the Aspotogan Peninsula were the
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ( ...
, primarily from Massachusetts. For these Protestants from New England, the Governor of Nova Scotia established Chester (1759). Some of these New England Planters eventually crossed Mahone Bay to settle on the Aspotogan Peninsula. Nova Scotia Lt. Governor Michael Franklin reported that by January 1, 1767, there were eleven Americans already living on the Peninsula.
According to Nova Scotia Lt. Governor Franklin's return, by 1767 there were also 62 English living on the Aspotogan. The identities and location of the English who migrated to the Peninsula are unknown. They may have been associated with English names such as Hubbards and Blandford. It is unknown if after the American Revolution (1783), Loyalists from America settled on the Peninsula.
Foreign Protestants
After 1767, a significant strain of immigrants to settle the Aspotogan Peninsula was
Foreign Protestants
The Foreign Protestants were a group of French Lutheran and German Protestant immigrants to Nova Scotia. They largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town of Göttingen) and Dutch Village Road as well as Lunenburg. ...
, both German and French speaking. Upon the founding of Halifax in 1749, Nova Scotia was a British Protestant colony with only Catholic Acadian settlers. In an attempt to assimilate the Catholic Acadians, the British invited Protestants from across Europe to settle in Nova Scotia. Between 1750-1753, over 2500 "Foreign Protestants" had arrived in Halifax. After living in Halifax for three years, Lunenburg was established for these "Foreign Protestants" (1753).
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
(1776–83), the Americans plundered Lunenburg, burning buildings and taking prisoners (1782). After the Raid on Lunenburg, many German speaking and French speaking residents left Lunenburg. Some German-speaking residents went to nearby Rose Bay, while French-speaking residents established
French Village, Nova Scotia
French Village is a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Chebucto Peninsula. French village initially included present day villages of Tantallon, Glen Haven and French Village. The Frenc ...
in St. Margaret's Bay (1783). The west side of the Aspotogan Peninsula was first settled primarily by Germans from Rose Bay, while the east side of the Aspotogan was settled by the French, crossing St. Margaret's bay from French Village. Part of the German tradition that remained on the Peninsula until the end of the 20thcentury was the export of sauerkraut. Zinck p. 43-48
Notable residents
One of the most famous people to make Deep Cove their home was
Cyrus Eaton
Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. (December 27, 1883 – May 9, 1979) was a Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned seventy years.
For decades Eaton was one of the most powerful financiers in the ...
, a millionaire industrialist. He invited guests to stay at his home such as the first astronaut in space,
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
.
Tourism
During the 1800s tourism increased and Hubbards became a regular stopping place for the stagecoach. The
Halifax and Southwestern Railway
The Halifax and South Western Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia.
The legal name of this railway was the Halifax & South Western Railway, as is defined in various Acts of the Nova Scotia Legislature ...
between Halifax and Yarmouth, completed in 1905, carried both passengers and freight and crossed the base of the peninsula. This provided easy rail access for visitors to the scenic splendor and beaches of the area and made the Aspotogan Peninsula a popular tourist destination.
Many hotels and cottages were established during this period, including The Gainsborough.
In 1969,
Highway 103 was completed linking Hubbards to Halifax with a 2-lane
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
. With a driving time of only 45 minutes, more residents began to commute to Halifax for work. Reasonable land prices and the opportunity to live in a rural setting also encouraged many city dwellers to move to the area.
Tourism continues to be an important contributor to the local economy, drawing people from all over the world. Local bed and breakfast operators and inns, restaurants, and campgrounds are busy during the summer months. The
Shore Club
The Shore Club is a restaurant and live music venue located in Hubbards, Nova Scotia. Built by Roy Harnish in 1946, it has become locally renowned for serving a lobster supper. Now in the third generation of owners, Shore Club bids itself as t ...
, which recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary, remains one of the last great dance halls in the area and is well known for its Saturday night dances and
lobster
Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...
suppers.
The 131-room
Aspotogan Sea Spa was conceived as a luxury getaway for European tourists. Construction was halted in the mid-1990s when the developers ran out of money. The five-storey hotel, substantially complete, sat abandoned for two decades before being demolished in 2016.
Military
Regiments were raised on the Aspotogan to defend against possible
Fenian Raids, such as the regiment at
Blandford, Nova Scotia
Blandford is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route (Nova Scotia Route 329). Blandford originally included the present day communities of ...
.
During World War I, the military built a forty-foot look off at the peak of the Aspotogan mountain.
[Lily Zinck 2004. Echoes of Deep Cove. Norstead Farm Press. p. 24.]
The Gainsborough hotel was sold to the federal government in 1944 and was used as part of the St. Margaret's Bay Training School for the
Canadian Merchant Navy
Canada, like several other Commonwealth nations, created the Canadian Merchant Navy () in a large-scale effort during World War II. 184 ships are involved in merchant shipping activity in the Canadian shipping industry.
History
An informal me ...
. (In 1969, the J.D. Shatford Library was built on the site.)
In 1967,
Canadian Forces Station Mill Cove (CFS Mill Cove) was opened to provide a naval radio communications receiving station for
Maritime Forces Atlantic
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station.
...
. The radio station consisted of approximately of land, private married quarters, and administration buildings. The complex was a major employer and contributor to the local economy until it was automated in the late 1990s.
Film, television and literature
In 1994, the Aspotogan Heritage Trust was created to oversee the renovation and re-population of the land and buildings that were decommissioned at CFS Mill Cove following the automation of the receiver station. The Trust markets these assets as Mill Cove Park and includes the province's first dedicated
sound stage
A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...
(established in 1996) in the former administration and gymnasium buildings. More than $40 million of film and TV production took place at this sound stage over a 5-year period, including filming for the
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
series ''
Black Harbour
''Black Harbour'' is a Canadian television series, which ran on CBC Television from 1996 to 1999.
The show starred Rebecca Jenkins as Katherine Hubbard, a successful restaurant owner who returned to live in her Nova Scotia hometown to be with her ...
'' and ''
Blackfly''.
The Hollywood film ''
High Tide at Noon
''High Tide at Noon'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Philip Leacock. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. ''High Tide at Noon'' was based on the first of a series of novels by Elisabeth Ogilvie, set in Maine. Location wo ...
'' (1957) was filmed at
Northwest Cove, Nova Scotia
Northwest Cove is a cove on the St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arcti ...
while ''
The Shipping News
''The Shipping News'' is a novel by American author E. Annie Proulx and published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1993. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the U.S. National Book Award, as well as other awards. It was adapted as a film of the ...
'' with Kevin Spacey was filmed in Blandford, Nova Scotia.
Author
Frank Parker Day
Frank Parker Day (9 May 1881 – 30 July 1950) was a Canadian athlete, academic and author.
Since Day's father was a Methodist minister who moved to a new congregation every three years, Day spent his youth living throughout Nova Scotia, living ...
lived on
East Ironbound
East Ironbound is an inhabited island located off the Aspotogan Peninsula in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, between St. Margarets Bay and Mahone Bay.Nautical chart #4386 ''St. Margarets Bay'', published by Canadian Hydrographic Service, 2004 ...
, an island which is just off the shore of
Blandford, Nova Scotia
Blandford is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route (Nova Scotia Route 329). Blandford originally included the present day communities of ...
. He based his bestselling novel ''
Rockbound ''Rockbound'' is a novel published in 1928 by Canadian writer Frank Parker Day.
Overview
The "Rockbound" mentioned in the title is name of small fictitious island inspired by East Ironbound, a remote island near Big Tancook Island off the coast ...
'' on his experience on the island.
Kirsten Dunst and Lynn Redgrave filmed ''
Deeply
''Deeply'' is a 2000 film directed by Sheri Elwood, starring Julia Brendler, Lynn Redgrave and Kirsten Dunst.
Synopsis
Claire McKay (Julia Brendler)—having suffered the death of her boyfriend—is brought by her mother to Ironbound Island in t ...
'' on East Ironbound.
References
Secondary Sources
*
Winthrop Pickard Bell
Winthrop Pickard Bell (May 12, 1884 – April 4, 1965) was a Canadian academic who taught philosophy at the University of Toronto and Harvard. He is however perhaps best known for his work as a historian of Nova Scotia.
Biography
He was born in ...
. (1961). ''The "Foreign Protestants" and the Settlement of Nova Scotia''
*Mather Byles DesBrisay (1895). ''History of the county of Lunenburg''
External links
Aspotogan Peninsulaby the Aspotogan Heritage Trust
{{Coord, 44, 32, 22.1, N, 64, 5, 17.5, W, scale:100000, display=title
Peninsulas of Nova Scotia
Landforms of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia