Lockeport is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
in
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 of America. It was originally ...
,
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 is a traditional Nova Scotian fishing town, situated on a
peninsula in Allendale Bay. It is connected to the mainland by the
Crescent Beach causeway. The area that surrounds the bay is known as the "Ragged Islands."
History
In 1762, two families from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
journeyed to Nova Scotia in an effort to find a new colony that was closer to the rich fishing grounds of the
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...
. When they found the sheltered Allendale Bay, they knew they had found a gem in the rough. Situated halfway between the colonies in New England and the fishing grounds, their new town would be a centre for both fishing and trade.
The patriarchs of those first two families, Jonathan Locke and Josiah Churchill, went on to become the captains of industry in the area. Churchill became the first mayor of the Township of Locke's Island (registered in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
in 1764).
Locke's Island and its surroundings entered a period of booming industry, with hotels, trade warehouses and multiple fish plants being constructed. Large trade ships plied the sea lanes from Locke's Island to the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
to trade
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
and
salt cod
Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export o ...
, returning to the town laden with
molasses and
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
. The fishing schooners were constantly returning from the Banks loaded with cod. However, this golden age of the Ragged Islands would eventually come to an end, with the first of many catastrophes coming in the form of a fish market collapse in the 1890s. Subsequent fires plagued the town, and the once great community was brought to its knees.
![LockeportNS P0 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/LockeportNS_P0_2016.jpg)
In 1907, a meeting was held among the rate-payers of the town. It was obvious to all in attendance that drastic action would need to be taken in order to stimulate the economy of Locke's Island. They decided that the Township of Locke's Island would become the Town of Lockeport. By incorporating as a town, the community was able to receive money from the provincial government.
The money initially received by the town was used to construct a
ferry that would link the town with a nearby rail line. This action did succeed in stimulating the declining economy, however, it was unable to restore the town to its former state of glory.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada, Lockeport had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Festivals and culture
The town is home to a number of annual festivals that promote the heritage and culture of the Ragged Islands area. The Lockeport Sea Derby is a popular, family-oriented festival, which brings members of the community together to share in the area's rich fishing heritage.
The Annual
Canada Day festivities are renowned, and imbue a strong sense of local pride in the community.
Lockeport is also host to a popular women's music and arts festival, which celebrates the independence of women on the South Shore, known as Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song.
Sporting history
Lockeport is one of the most sport-infused communities in Nova Scotia, and perhaps Canada. Since 1950, the local High School has accumulated 44 provincial championships in basketball, soccer and track and field. The town has produced notable athletes including
Marjorie Turner-Bailey, a sprinter who represented Canada at the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 P ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Walter Nickerson, the most successful
dory
A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...
-rowing athlete in Canada, and Ian MacMillan, a well-known basketball coach in Nova Scotia who spent time as an assistant coach in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA). Sporting events still attract large numbers of spectators. Lockeport is host to a number of indoor and outdoor recreational areas where youth continue to gather and play.
Public library
![Lockeport library](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Lockeport_library.jpg)
Located at 35 North Street in Lockeport, the Lillian Benham Library is one of the 10 branches of
Western Counties Regional Library
Western Counties Regional Library is a regional public library with 10 branches serving the counties of Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth in southwestern Nova Scotia. Established in June 1969, the library has its headquarters at 405 Main Street in th ...
. It joined the Western Counties Regional Library on June 5, 1969, but it did not have a physical location in Lockeport until the first branch opened on April 13, 1973. The branch relocated to its present site on September 1, 1981; it then underwent an expansion, re-opening on August 22, 1987.
Further reading
*
Tomi Ungerer
Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer (; 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was an Alsatian artist and writer. He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the fantastic to the autobiographical. He was known for sha ...
, ''Far Out Isn't Far Enough: Life in the Back of Beyond'', 1984 (reprinted by
Phaidon, 2011)
[The French writer and illustrator Tomi Ungere]
recalls
his time living on an island near Lockeport in the mid-1970s.
See also
*
List of municipalities in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is the seventh-most populous province in Canada with 969,383 residents as of the 2021 Census of Population, and the second-smallest province in land area at . Nova Scotia's 49 municipalities cover of the territory's land mass, a ...
References
External links
Town of Lockeport
{{Authority control
Communities in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia
Towns in Nova Scotia
General Service Areas in Nova Scotia