Mabou is an unincorporated settlement in the

Municipality of the County of Inverness The Municipality of the County of Inverness is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to about 17,000 residents of the historical county of the same name, except for the incorporated tow ...

on the west coast of

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

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. The population in 2011 was 1,207 residents. It is the site of

The Red Shoe The Red Shoe Pub is a restaurant located in Mabou, Nova Scotia. Open seasonally, it has been operated by Canadian musical group The Rankin Family since May 2005, and is a regular host to both local and visiting Celtic musicians. Artists such as Bu ...

pub, the

An Drochaid An Drochaid Museum was formed in 1980 and is located in Mabou, Nova Scotia. The museum and Mabou Gaelic and Historical Society was founded to catalogue and support Gaelic culture in the Mabou area. It also functions as keeping records of Mabou's his ...

Museum, and

Glenora Distillers Glenora Distillers is a distiller based in Glenville, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Cape Breton Island. Their most prominent product is Glen Breton Rare whisky, made in the Scottish-style in that it is a single malt Canadian whisky, not a rye, as is t ...

History

The name Mabou is thought to derive from

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 ...

name ''Malabo'', shortened from ''Malabokek'', meaning "place where two rivers meet" (the Mabou and Southwest Mabou rivers). It is also thought to mean "Shining Waters" or "Sparkling Waters". In

Canadian Gaelic Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig Chanada, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada. Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scot ...

it is called An Drochaid, meaning "The Bridge". In 1841, the first resident

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, ''Maighstir Alasdair Mòr'' (Fr. Alexander MacDonald, 1801-1865) was assigned to

Mabou Mabou is an unincorporated settlement in the Municipality of the County of Inverness on the west coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. The population in 2011 was 1,207 residents. It is the site of The Red Shoe pub, the An Drochai ...

, where he was seen as, "a veritable chieftain and patron of poets." Fr. MacDonald was also a very near kinsman to many local Gaelic-speaking pioneers, as he was 8th in descent from Iain Dubh MacDhòmhnaill, the 1st

Tacksman A tacksman ( gd, Fear-Taic, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society. Tenant and landlord Although a tacksman generally paid a year ...

Bohuntine Bohuntine ( gd, Both Fhionndain) is a settlement located close to Roybridge, in Lochaber, within the Scottish Highlands, and is in the Highland Council area. History The first tacksman of Bohuntine, Iain Dubh MacDhòmhnaill, was born illegitim ...

for

Clan MacDonald of Keppoch Clan MacDonald of Keppoch ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill na Ceapaich ), also known as Clan Ranald of Lochaber or Clan MacDonell of Keppoch'','' is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The progenitor of the clan is Alistair Carrach Mac ...

. Effie Rankin (2004), ''As a' Braighe/Beyond the Braes: The Gaelic Songs of Allan the Ridge MacDonald'',

Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...

Press. Page 28, 62. During the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century Mabou's primary economic activity centered around a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

with several collieries located in the surrounding area. The

Inverness and Richmond Railway The Inverness and Richmond Railway was a railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from 1901 to the 1980s. It is now a rail trail for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and human-powered transport called the Celtic Shores Coastal ...

opened in 1901 to connect the mines in Mabou and

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

to wharves in Mabou and

Port Hastings Port Hastings is a unincorporated settlement on Cape Breton Island, within the Municipality of the County of Inverness, Canada. The population in 2021 was 90. The community is located at the eastern end of the Canso Causeway on Cape Breton Isla ...

. Mining activity ceased following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the railway was abandoned during the late 1980s and is now a

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

and ATV trail. Today Mabou is primarily a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

port for a small fleet of

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

boats. It also hosts a high school serving central Inverness County.

Geography

The community is located at the head of an inlet off the Gulf of St. Lawrence named "Mabou Harbour" and is surrounded by low mountains which are part of the Creignish Hills.

Climate

Famous residents

Kate Beaton Kathryn Moira Beaton (born 8 September 1983) is a Canadian comics artist best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Hark! A Vagrant'', which ran from 2007 to 2018. Her other major works include the children's books '' The Princess and the Po ...

(born 1983), cartoonist and creator of the webcomic ''

Hark! A Vagrant ''Hark! A Vagrant'' is a webcomic published by Canadian artist Kate Beaton between 2007 and 2018. It discussed historical and literary topics in a comedic tone and was drawn in black and white. Recurring themes ''Hark! A Vagrant'' is best k ...

'' * Allan The Ridge MacDonald (1794-1868) local pioneer, Seanchaidh, and poet. Highly important figure in both

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Irish ...

and in that of

. * Morgan Murray, author of ''Dirty Birds'' (2018) *

The Rankin Family The Rankin Family (originally known as The Rankins) are a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four Society of Composers, Author ...

, professional performers of Cape Breton-style

Scottish traditional music Scottish folk music (also Scottish traditional music) is a Music genre, genre of folk music that uses forms that are identified as part of the Scottish musical tradition. There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in ...

References

External links

Community website

Celtic Shores Coastal Trail
snowmobile and ATV trail {{Authority control Communities in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Populated places in the Municipality of the County of Inverness, Nova Scotia General Service Areas in Nova Scotia