Greenwich is a

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 located in eastern Kings County,

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 was previously known as Noggins Corner, as travellers could procure a

noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...

of rum at a local public house. The community is bordered to the south by the Wolfville Ridge, immediately west of the town of

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination du ...

and east of the village of

New Minas New Minas is a village located in the eastern part of Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2011, the population was 5,135. Geography New Minas borders the town of Kentville to the west and the unincorporated community of Greenwi ...

. It is also bordered on the north by the south bank of the Cornwallis River (also known as Chijekwtook), opposite the village of Port Williams.

History

Greenwich has been primarily agricultural in nature since being first settled by families including the Bishop and Forsyth families, who settled here in 1760 as

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 ( ...

; both of these families still farm in Greenwich today. The

Windsor and Annapolis Railway The Windsor and Annapolis Railway (W&AR) was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. The railway ran from Windsor to Annapolis Royal and leased connections to Nova Scotia's capital of Halifax. The W&AR playe ...

arrived in 1869. Greenwich served as the station for nearby Port Williams. In 1884, the first apple warehouse in Nova Scotia was built in Greenwich beside the station, quickly followed by many others in the 1890s paving the way for a rapid growth in the apple industry in Nova Scotia. Rail service lasted until 2006 and attracted bulk distributors for feed and fuel.

Economy and services

Greenwich has a population of approximately 300 people. Agriculture remains an important industry but water, sewer, hydrant, street-lights, bus transit and sidewalk services have attracted residential and retail growth within easy access of both

and

. Greenwich is also served by a

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

. The community has hosted Horton High School in two different locations since 1959.

Greenwich United Church (now Bishop Hall)

In 1906,

Andrew R. Cobb Andrew Randall Cobb, ARCA, FRIBA (13 June 1876 – 2 June 1943) was a Canadian-American architect based in Nova Scotia. In his day, Cobb was one of the most renowned architects in Atlantic Canada. He is one of the first ''élèves'' of the � ...

designed the plans for a new building to replace the original Methodist meeting house from 1833. The new building was completed in 1910 and the old meeting house was demolished. In 1923 it became the United Church of Greenwich and was part of the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

. In 2012, the congregation amalgamated with congregations of several surrounding communities to form the Orchard Valley United Church. The Greenwich church building was sold to Noggins Corner Farm and has been renamed Bishop Hall. It currently functions as a space for community gatherings.

Farm markets

There are five farm markets located on the main road in Greenwich, they include: Elderkin's Farm Market & Cider Company
Stirling Fruit FarmsHennigar's Farm MarketNoggins Corner Farm
and Avery's Farm Market.

Elderkin's Farm Market & Cider Company

Elderkin's Farm Market & Cider Company, located on Broadview Farms - one of the first farms created when Greenwich was settled - has been family owned and operated since 1760.

Stirling Fruit Farms

Stirling Fruit Farms was founded by Alexander Robert Stirling in 1917 when he began farming land that belonged to his aunts when he was seventeen. He opened his first roadside market in Greenwich in the 1940s and it is currently owned and managed by his descendants.

Hennigar's Farm Market

Hennigar's farm was founded in 1921 when Edward and Thelma Hennigar purchased 39 acres of land to farm. Their first farm market was opened in spot called the "Tannery Hollow" by their son Rhodes and his wife Gloria in 1952.

Noggins Corner Farm Market

Noggins Corner Farm Market is on the site of original 1760 land grants for Timothy and William Bishop and is run by members of the Bishop family descended from Timothy. The farm market was established by Sandy and Avard Bishop who took over the farm in 1955.

References

{{coord, 45, 5, 1.94, N, 64, 23, 59.48, W, region:CA-NS_type:city, display=title Communities in Kings County, Nova Scotia