Earltown, Nova Scotia ''(Baile-an-Iarla)'' is a Canadian

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

community in

Colchester County Colchester County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 51,476 the county is the fourth largest in Nova Scotia. Colchester County is located in north central Nova Scotia. The majority of the county is gover ...

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 ...

. The community is located 25 km north of the town of Truro on Route 311, on the north slope of the

Cobequid Mountains The Cobequid Mountains, also sometimes referred to as the Cobequid Hills, is a Canadian mountain range located in Nova Scotia in the mainland portion of the province. Geologic history Geologically, the Cobequid Mountains are considered part of th ...

History

Earltown was included within the

Philadelphia grant The Philadelphia grant describes of land along the south shore of the Northumberland Strait between Tatamagouche and Pictou, Nova Scotia. Following expulsion of the Acadians, the British government distributed Acadian land to various landlords un ...

of 1765.

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an settlement commenced in 1813 as an extension of the

Highland Scot settlements Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

in Western Pictou County. The two earliest settlers were Angus Sutherland and

Donald MacIntosh Donald Macintosh (1743–1808) was a Scottish clergyman, a nonjuror of the Scottish Episcopal Church, known as a scholar of Scottish Gaelic. Life Born at Orchilmore, near Killiecrankie, Perthshire, Macintosh was son of a cooper and crofter. Afte ...

, natives of Rogart,

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, who had previously settled in Pictou County. In the following years they were joined by approximately 100 families who immigrated directly from the Sutherland, Ross and

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

, Scotland. The earliest name for the settlement was New Portugal, some of the settlers having fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. The name was subsequently changed to Earltown in honour of the

Earl of Dalhousie Earl of Dalhousie, in the County of Midlothian, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, held by the Chief of Clan Ramsay. History The family descends from Sir George Ramsay, who represented Kincardineshire in the Scottish Parliament in 1617. ...

. The name for the community can be traced to several Scottish settlers who came from the Earl of Sutherland's estate and located in northern Colchester County about 1816. At its height in the late 1800s, the area boasted a population of 2,000 with most residents employed in farming and forestry. The area currently has a population of approximately 250 residents.

References

Earltown on Destination Nova Scotia
Communities in Colchester County {{ColchesterNS-geo-stub