The Municipality of the County of Victoria is a county municipality on
Cape Breton Island
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. ...
,
Nova Scotia,
Canada. It provides local government to about 7,000 residents of the eponymous historical county except for the
Wagmatcook 1
Wagmatcook 1 is a Mi'kmaq reserve located in Victoria County, Nova Scotia
It is administratively part of the Wagmatcook First Nation
Wagmatcook First Nation is a band of Mi'kmaq people in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
As of 2016, the regis ...
reserve. The municipal offices are in the village of
Baddeck
Baddeck () is a village in northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated in the centre of Cape Breton, approximately 6 km east of where the Baddeck River empties into Bras d'Or Lake.
Local governance is provided by the rural municipality ...
.
History
Prior to European settlement, the area was sparsely inhabited by the
Miꞌkmaq, who hunted in the area.
French
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
s settled at
St. Anns in 1629.
British settlement began in the 1700s after the territory was had been by France.
In 1839, a property containing an inn, a tavern, and a post office was built in Baddeck. 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 from Cape Breton County, and Baddeck became the site for the new county's jail and court house, and later the site of
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 ...
's
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 the so ...
, a summer residence and research centre,
and the
Bell Boatyard. Bell is commemorated at the
Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.
The county is named for
Queen Victoria.
Demographics
As a
Census divisions of Canada in 2016, Victoria County had a population of 7,089 in 4,437 dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 7,115.
Economy
Fishing and tourism are the main industries.
See also
*
Communities in Victoria County, Nova Scotia
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town ...
*
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 drive that circles
Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a Canadian national park on northern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
The park was the first national park in the Atlantic provinces of Canada and covers an area of . It is one of 42 in Canada's system ...
in the north of the municipality.
References
External links
Municipality of Victoria County website
{{Authority control
Victoria