Kennetcook is a community in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

province 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 ...

, located in the Municipal District of East Hants. Also see adjacent community of

Upper Kennetcook Upper Kennetcook is a community in the Canadian province 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 ...

History

The village takes its name from the

Kennetcook River The Kennetcook River is a river that flows through Hants County, Nova Scotia. From headwaters near the mouth of the Shubenacadie River, the Kennetcook traverses about 45 kilometres of mostly rural terrain, discharging into the Avon River, Nova Sco ...

which is believed to come from a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

word meaning "The Place Further Ahead or The Place Nearby". The river was an important east-west canoe and portage route for the Mi'kmaq people connecting the Piziquid (Windsor) area with the canoe routes and settlement areas along the

Shubenacadie River The Shubenacadie River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 72 km from its source at Shubenacadie Grand Lake to its mouth at the historic seaport village of Maitland on Cobequid Bay, site of the building ...

. A trail from Halifax to the Acadian settlements at Noel on the Minas Basin crossed the Kennetcook River at a ford near the site of the village, making it an early crossroads. After the American Revolution, the village was part of the Douglas Township, which was named after

Sir Charles Douglas, 1st Baronet Rear Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, 1st Baronet (1727 – 17 March 1789) was a descendant of the Earls of Morton and a distinguished British naval officer. He is particularly known for his part in the Battle of the Saintes during the American War ...

. The village was settled by the troops of the

84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutiona ...

for their service in the war, protecting Nova Scotia from ongoing American Patriot attacks by land and sea.

Joseph Salter Joseph Salter (June 7, 1816 – January 1, 1901) was a Canadian businessman and politician, becoming Moncton’s first mayor and one of the leading shipbuilders in the Maritime Provinces. As a young man employed by John Leander Starr of Halifax, S ...

, the noted shipbuilder and first mayor of

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...

, was born in Kennetcook in 1816. In 1901, the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

was built through the village enhancing the crossroads as a retail and service centre for the area. Kennetcook grew to host a hotel by the station, a bank and several stores. The Midland was acquired by the

Dominion Atlantic Railway The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley. The Dominion Atlantic Railway was unusually diverse for a ...

in 1905 and later by the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

which added further rail traffic as well as shipping farm products and lumber from Kennetcook through connections to

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

. Highway construction after World War Two undermine railway traffic leading to the end of passenger and regular freight service in 1979 and removal of the railway in 1983.

Bridges and transportation

A covered bridge spanned the

until 1967. This was the last

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in Nova Scotia. Currently, efforts are underway to revitalize the downtown through development and implementation of an

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

plan. This development plan will include the construction of an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, multi-purpose center, commercial development space and the re-construction of the

. Kennetcook was also known for its Douglas Township celebration every year.

Literary connections

The "Father of Canadian Poetry" Sir

Charles G.D. Roberts Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (January 10, 1860 – November 26, 1943) was a Canadian poet and prose writer. He was one of the first Canadian authors to be internationally known. He published various works on Canadian exploration and na ...

wrote a fictional story that was set just before the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...

(1755). The story is an account of a Mi'kmaq raid on British settlers in Kennetcook entitled "Raid on Kennetcook" (alternatively titled "Raid from Beauséjour"). Roberts wrote the story in 1894 while he worked at

University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

, which was then located in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for sev ...

. In 1953, the noted Canadian poet

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor ...

graduated from the Folk School located in the Kennetcook Hotel (present-day Law Office).

Notable residents

Robert Paterson, gardener for William D. Lawrence, Maitland
* Captain Joel Scott, brother of the Mariner of Minasville Captain William Scott

References

External links

Kennetcook Society of Economic & Environmental Development"Kennetcook - History", ''Municipality of East Hants''
{{Coord, 45.178, -63.722, display=title, type:city_dim:1000_region:CA-NS Communities in Hants County, Nova Scotia General Service Areas in Nova Scotia