Eel Bay, previously known as Cape Negro,
is a community in the
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
province of
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, located in the
Municipality of the District of Barrington
Barrington, officially named the Municipality of the District of Barrington, is a district municipality in western Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Statistics Canada classifies the district municipality as a municipal district.
Geography
...
of
Shelburne County
Shelburne County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
History
Shelburne County was founded in 1784 shortly following the influx of Loyalist settlers evacuated from the newly independent United States. It was originally named Port ...
.
[Government of Nova Scotia website: Community Counts](_blank)
/ref> Cape Sable, Nova Scotia
Cape Sable Island, locally referred to as Cape Island, is a small Canadian island at the southernmost point of the Nova Scotia peninsula. It is sometimes confused with Sable Island. Historically, the Argyle, Nova Scotia region was known as Cape ...
By one account, Eel Bay was first settled by the French who migrated from Port Royal
Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...
in 1620. However other records indicate the habitation and garden of a French Priest at the Hawl Over (or Haulover) in Eel Bay as early as 1635, and the 1671 French census records the family of Amand and Elizabeth Lalloue living in Eel Bay.
History
The cape was named by Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...
, who wrote in 1604: "There is a harbour very good for vessels, and the head of it has a little river, which runs from a distance inland, which I named the port Cape Negro, on account of a rock which at a distance resembles one, four leagues from it and four from Port Mouton. The cape is very dangerous on account of the rocks."
The first mention of permanent European habitation was that of a French Priest in 1635. What remains of the 1671 French census indicates a family of seven (Amand Lalloue) living in Eel Bay, with a farm which included grain, peas and other vegetables as well as sizeable herds of goats and pigs. Several Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
families with children lived in Eel Bay, at least during the summer.
Practically all of the Acadians were expelled by the English / New England military forces by 1758, and the New England Planters began to settle the formerly Acadian farmland by 1760–1761. The earliest 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 ...
in Eel Bay were: Peleg Coffin, Sacco Barnes, Timothy Bryant, Samuel Knowles.
Although there was at one time a Cape Negro school and community hall, all that remains today are the Cape Negro Church (current building built 1853) and adjacent cemeteries (Seaview Cemetery, 1770. Hillside Cemetery, 1958). The remnants of the canal built at the Hawl Over also remain. The Cape Negro Church has the distinction of having Freeborn Garrettson
Freeborn Garrettson (August 15, 1752 – September 26, 1827) was an American clergyman, and one of the first American-born Methodist preachers. He entered the Methodist ministry in 1775 and travelled extensively to evangelize in several states. ...
as one of its first ministers.
Name change
Named in or before 1604 after a black rock formation, the Middle French ''Cap Negre'' meaning Cape Black predates North American African Slavery by at least fifteen years.
Nevertheless, in late 2016, an application was made to Nova Scotia Geographic Information Service to rename Cape Negro (and Cape Negro Island, Negro Harbour, Squaw Island). The change was awaiting Indigenous and community support.
See also
* List of communities in Nova Scotia
This is a list of communities in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. For the purposes of this list, a community is defined as an unincorporated area, unincorporated settlement inside or outside a municipality ...
References
{{coord, 43, 33, 09, N, 65, 26, 33, W, name=Eel Bay, Nova Scotia, display=title, region:CA-NS_scale:100000
Communities in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia
Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia
Populated coastal places in Canada
1635 establishments in the French colonial empire