Baddeck () is a village in northeastern
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 ...
, Canada. It is situated in the centre of
Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18. ...
, approximately 6 km east of where the
Baddeck River
The Baddeck River is a minor river on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It empties into the Bras d'Or Lake several kilometres west of the village of Baddeck.
The Baddeck River flows south from the Cape Breton Highlands. It offers excellen ...
empties into
Bras d'Or Lake
Bras d'Or Lake (Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmawi'simk: Pitupaq) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, ma ...
.
Local governance is provided by the rural municipality of
Victoria County Victoria County is the name of several locations:
In Australia:
*Victoria County, Western Australia
* County of Victoria, South Australia
In Canada:
* Victoria County, New Brunswick
* Municipality of the County of Victoria and the eponymous histo ...
, with an elected village council having limited authority. The population was 826 in the
2016 Canadian census
The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...
.
It was first settled by
United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...
s in the late 18th century, and prospered in the 19th century with mining, milling, and shipbuilding.
Today the economy depends on services, cultural activities, and tourism.
Toponymy
Baddeck is one of the few Nova Scotian
Mi'kmaq language
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 ...
place names that was not replaced by colonial settlers.
The French called it La Bedeque, while
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig Chanada, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scot ...
speakers called it Badaig.
Its original meaning has been variously reported as "reversing flow",
"place with island near" (a likely reference to
Kidston Island
Kidston Island is an uninhabited island in the Bras d'Or Lakes in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. The island is owned by the Village of Baddeck which leases it to the local Lions Club, which operates the beach on the island and the ferry to the island.
F ...
),
"a portion of food set aside for someone", or "a sultry place".
History
French
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
s settled at nearby
St. Anns in 1629.
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
settlement came during the 1700s after the territory was ceded by France.
In 1839, a property containing an inn, a tavern, and a post office was built. In 1841,
Charles James Campbell
Charles James Campbell (November 6, 1819 – April 17, 1906) was a Scottish-born merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Victoria in the House of Commons of Canada from 1874 to 1875, from 1876 to 1878 and from 18 ...
opened a store began shipbuilding, and developed coal mining.
In 1851 Victoria County was split off from Cape Breton county and Baddeck became the site for the new county's jail and court house.
Baddeck rose to fame in 1874, with the publication of the travel memoir ''
Baddeck, And That Sort of Thing.''
In 1885 the
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
family had a vacation in Baddeck.
[Bethune, Jocelyn]
Historic Baddeck: Images of our past
Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, N.S., 2009, , . He then built a complex of buildings, including a new laboratory,
named
Beinn Bhreagh
( ) is the name of the former estate of Alexander Graham Bell, in Victoria County, Nova Scotia. It refers to a peninsula jutting into Cape Breton Island's scenic Bras d'Or Lake approximately southeast of the village of Baddeck, forming th ...
(Gaelic: ''beautiful mountain'') after Bell's ancestral
Scottish highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
.
Initially a summer residence, Bell spent an increasing part of the year there, and conducted many experiments, including the
AEA Silver Dart
The ''Silver Dart'' (or ''Aerodrome #4'') was a derivative of an early aircraft built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights in Hammondsport, New York, earlier in 1908, was dismantled and shipped to Baddeck, Nova Scotia. ...
's first controlled powered flight in Canada in 1909. From 1885 to 1928 the estate included the
Bell Boatyard The Bell Boatyard was a boatbuilding facility which operated as part of Alexander Graham Bell's laboratories in Baddeck, Nova Scotia from 1885 to 1928. The boatyard built experimental craft, lifeboats and yachts during the first part of the twentiet ...
which made both experimental and traditional boats. The yard was notable for its dual focus on both experimental and traditional boats and for its employment of large numbers of female boatbuilders.
Bell is commemorated at the
Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site
Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site is a property in Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, overlooking the Bras d'Or Lakes. The site is a unit of Parks Canada, the national park system, and includes the Alexander Graham Bell Nat ...
.
Geography
The area sits on rocks from the
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
Windsor Group. These include
rock salt
Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...
,
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
,
potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. , and
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
, which are easily dissolved by groundwater and creates caves and
sinkholes
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
.
Climate
Baddeck experiences a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(Dfb). The highest temperature ever recorded in Baddeck was on 22 August 1935. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 11 February 1883.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Baddeck had a population of 818 living in 368 of its 415 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 826. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Attractions
Baddeck is one of several Cape Breton communities that plays host to the
Celtic Colours
Celtic Colours International Festival is a Celtic music festival held annually in October in communities on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. First held in 1997, the festival has featured musicians from the Celtic world and attracted vi ...
festival each fall. The music festival features hundreds of Celtic musicians from Cape Breton and around the world.
In the spring, the village hosts the
Cabot Trail Relay Race
The Cabot Trail Relay Race is an annual 276.33 km (171.70 mi) relay race around Cape Breton's Cabot Trail. The race takes place over 24 hours in 17 stages and features up to 70 teams and 1,200 runners. The race begins and ends in Baddec ...
, a 298 km (185-mile) relay race around the
Cabot Trail
The Cabot Trail is a scenic highway on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the Cape Breton Highlands and the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
It is named ...
.
The
Cabot Trail
The Cabot Trail is a scenic highway on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the Cape Breton Highlands and the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
It is named ...
, a scenic route, passes through Baddeck.
Historic structures in the town include:
*
Telegraph House
The Telegraph House is a historic hotel located in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
History
The hotel was built in 1861 and soon after housed the office of the first Trans-Oceanic Cable Company. The hotel first came to prominence after Joseph Twichell and ...
hotel, 1861, first came to prominence after it was featured in the 1874 book ''
Baddeck, And That Sort of Thing''.
It once housed the Trans-Oceanic Cable Company, a pioneer in
telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
.
*
Saint Peter's and Saint John's Anglican Church
Saint Peter's and Saint John's Anglican Church is an historic building in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. The church is one of only four remaining churches designed by Reverend Simon Gibbons, Canada's first Inuit priest. Built in 1883, the church is the se ...
, 1883, wooden
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
church.
*
Gilbert H. Grosvenor Hall
Gilbert H. Grosvenor Hall is a historic building in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada. The 19th-century building has served as a post office, library, and interpretive centre.
History
The building was originally built as the Baddeck Post Office and ...
, 1886,
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
structure of local red sandstone, originally built as the Baddeck Post Office and Custom House.
*
Victoria County Court House
The Victoria County Court House is a historic building in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
History
In 1851, Victoria County was split off from Cape Breton County, leaving the new county without a court house of its own. The court house was constructed in ...
, 1889,
Neoclassical wood and granite building.
*
Bras d'Or House
The Bras d'Or House is a historic building in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada.
History
The original Bras d'Or House was built around 1800 and housed a hotel operated by James Crowdis. The second owner was Robert Anderson and later his son Alexande ...
, circa 1894, heavily remodelled, now houses apartments and a Chinese restaurant.
*
St. Mark's Masonic Lodge, 1898, built in the style of a church, featuring elaborate architectural and Masonic details, many of which now covered with
vinyl siding
Vinyl siding is plastic exterior siding for houses and small apartment buildings, used for decoration and weatherproofing, imitating wood clapboardbatten board and batten or shakes, and used instead of other materials such as aluminum siding, al ...
.
*
Kidston Island Lighthouse
The Kidston Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Kidston Island, located in the Bras d'Or lakes, in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. The original lighthouse on Kidston Island was built in 1875. The present lighthouse was built in 1912 and the two stood sid ...
, 1912, accessible by ferry in the summer.
Education
Baddeck Academy
Baddeck Academy is a Primary through Grade 12 school located in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Cape Breton Island in Victoria County. It is governed by the Cape Breton – Victoria Regional School Board. The Academy overlooks Bras d'Or La ...
: primary to grade 12 school serving Baddeck and the surrounding communities.
Services
*
Bras d'Or Yacht Club
The Bras d'Or Yacht Club is a yacht club in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. It is located on its namesake body of water, the Bras d'Or Lakes. The club was founded in 1904. Among its founding members were Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, H. Percy Blanchard and A ...
*
Bell Bay Golf Club
The Bell Bay Golf Club is a golf course in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada. Designed by architect Tom McBroom, the course opened in 1998 and was named the best new golf course in Canada by ''Golf Digest''. The club has hosted several prestigious even ...
*
Baddeck (Guneden) Aerodrome
Baddeck (Guneden) Aerodrome is a registered aerodrome located north of Baddeck, 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 At ...
See also
*
People from Baddeck
Gallery
Women workers at Dr Alexander Graham Bell's laboratory Beinn Bhreagh.jpg, Women workers at Bell's shipyard
Victoria County Court House 2010.JPG, Victoria County Court House
Telegraph House, Baddeck, Nova Scotia.jpg, Telegraph House
Baddeck Post Office and Customs House.JPG, Old post office and customs house
Alexander and Mabel Bell statue, Baddeck Nova Scotia June 2014.jpeg, Alexander and Mabel Bell statue
References
External links
{{Authority control
Villages in Nova Scotia
Communities in Victoria County, Nova Scotia
Designated places in Nova Scotia