East River Sheet Harbour (locally known as East River) is a river on the Eastern Shore of

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 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 Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. Its headwaters are at the Marshall Flowage near Malay Falls and the mouth of the river is at the head of the Northeast Arm in

Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia Sheet Harbour is a rural area, rural community in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the eastern reaches of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, approximately northeast of the central urban area of the municipality, con ...

. East River begins at the Marshall Flowage, near Malay Falls. It flows southwest through the Malay Falls and Ruth Falls Flowages. Lake Mulgrave, a large lake west of the Marshall Flowage, flows into the Marshall Flowage via the Mulgrave River. The Fifteen Mile Stream also flows into the Marshall Flowage from the north. It extends northward, into

Guysborough County Guysborough County is a county in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History Taking its name from the Guysborough, Nova Scotia, Township of Guysborough, which was named in honour of Sir Guy Carleton, 1st B ...

. Grant River, a short river, flows into the Ruth Falls Flowage. The East River watershed system, along with the neighboring

West River West River may refer to: Rivers Canada *West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia * West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia * West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia * West ...

system, encompass a total area of 988 km². Around 1863, a sawmill was built at the head of the river by Demming & McFarlane, who were a lumber company. The company did not succeed financially however, and was dissolved a few years later. The first

sulphide Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds la ...

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ful ...

in Canada was built by the Halifax Wood Fibre Company in October 1885, at East River, Sheet Harbour. Since the discovery of the sulphite process in 1866, the news had traveled to William Chisholm, a lumber manufacturer in Halifax who had 60 thousand acres (24,281 hectares, or 242 km²) of woodland on the Sheet Harbour rivers. Chisholm decided to try the method out at the head of East River. The mill was closed in January 1891, due to the high costs of importing sulphide from the United States. The cookhouse which was used at the mill was bought by the residents of Watt Section and was floated down the harbour to the community. The East River Campground is located at the mouth of East River.

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{{authority control Rivers of Nova Scotia