Maitland, East Hants, Nova Scotia (originally known as Jean Peter's Village) is a village in

East Hants, Nova Scotia East Hants, officially named the Municipality of the District of East Hants, is a district municipality in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Statistics Canada classifies the district municipality as a municipal district. With its administrativ ...

. It is home to the historic Lawrence House Museum, which is part of the

Nova Scotia Museum Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and speci ...

. The community was part of the Douglas Township until it was named Maitland after Governor General of Nova Scotia

Peregrine Maitland General Sir Peregrine Maitland, GCB (6 July 1777 – 30 May 1854) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He also was a first-class cricketer from 1798 to 1808 and an early advocate for the establishment of what would become the Canad ...

(1828–34) when building the

Shubenacadie Canal The Shubenacadie Canal is a canal in central Nova Scotia, Canada. It links Halifax Harbour with the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River and Shubenacadie Grand Lake. Begun in 1826, it was not completed until 1861 and was closed in 1871. ...

was first attempted (1826–1831). The Canal was supposed to start at Maitland, Nova Scotia and run through the province to Maitland Street, Dartmouth, the canal being "bookended" by two "Maitland" landmarks.

History

Maitland was first settled by the Acadians. After the Acadian expulsion from the region (1750), the village was eventually settled by Ulster Scots whose descendants became shipbuilders.

Acadians

Maitland was settled by Jean Pitre (i.e., Peters), son of Jean Denis Pitre, prior to the

Acadian Expulsion 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 ...

. Oral tradition states that the Oak Island Graveyard was an Acadian burial ground, which was consecrated by Abbe

Jean-Louis Le Loutre Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre (; 26 September 1709 – 30 September 1772) was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Le Loutre became the leader of the French forces and the Acadian and Mi'kmaq militias during King Ge ...

. Oral tradition also states that a path that connects the "French Field" in Selma to the cemetery in Maitland is the old Acadian roadway. Several of Jean Denis Pitre's children married the children of

Noel Doiron Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places *Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid * Mount Noel, Britis ...

and Robert Henry from the neighbouring communities of Vil Noel (

Noel, Nova Scotia Noel is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants, which is in Hants County, Nova Scotia. The community is most well known for being named after its most prominent resident Noël Doiron ...

) and Vil Robere respectively. In 1750 the Acadians at Maitland joined the

Acadian Exodus The Acadian Exodus (also known as the Acadian migration) happened during Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories. The thr ...

during

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Briti ...

and moved to Riviere Nord-Est, Ile St. Jean (present-day

Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island) The Hillsborough River, also known as the East River, is a Canadian river in northeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island. History Battle at Port-la-Joye After the Siege of Louisbourg (1745) during King George's War, the New Englanders ...

). The former inhabitants of Maitland died in 1758 during 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 peo ...

in the sinking of the ''Duke William''.

Ulster Scots (Irish)

After the expulsion of the Acadians from Maitland (1750), the land was owned but never settled by Malachy Salter. Decades after the village was vacated by the Acadians, it was settled by

Ulster Scots people The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch''), are an ethnic group in Ireland, who speak an U ...

such as the Putnams (c. 1771).

Shipbuilding

Maitland emerged as a major shipbuilding centre in the late 19th century.

William Dawson Lawrence William Dawson Lawrence (16 July 1817 – 8 December 1886) was a successful shipbuilder, businessman and politician. He built the ''William D. Lawrence'', which is reported to be the largest wooden ship ever built in Canada. In 1874, W.D. La ...

became the community's most famous shipbuilder. His ship, the William D. Lawrence, the largest wooden ship ever built in Canada and third largest in the world, was launched at the William D. Lawrence Shipyard in Maitland on October 27, 1874, to one of the largest crowds assembled in Nova Scotia to that date. Every September, Maitland celebrates the launch of ''William D. Lawrence'' at a weekend festival called "Launch Days". Several other shipyards built large vessels as well, including the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

'' Calburga'', the last large square rigger to sail under the Canadian flag. Today, the only remaining remnant of the shipbuilding industry is Frieze and Roy, a general store which has operated since the 1860s and is known as Canada's oldest general store.

RCAF Aerodrome Maitland

During

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 opposing ...

, the RCAF constructed an aerodrome near the village of Maitland. The Aerodrome acted as a relief landing field for

CFS Debert Canadian Forces Station Debert (also CFS Debert) was a Canadian Forces station located in Debert, Nova Scotia. It was most recently used during the Cold War as a communications facility and was home to a " Regional Emergency Government Headquar ...

that was located nearby. In approximately 1942, the aerodrome was listed at with a Var. 23.5 degrees W and no elevation specified. The field was listed as "Hard under construction" and had one runway listed as follows:Staff Writer c.1942, p. 21

Architecture

Maitland was Nova Scotia's first Heritage Conservation District. The centre of the village is a Heritage Conservation District because of its many fine and well-preserved examples of Victorian architecture. The styles of architecture include Gothic, Federal, Colonial,

Cape Cod (house) A Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single or double-story frame building with a moderately-steep-pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation. Originating in New England in the 17th century, the simple symmetrical de ...

, Greek Revival architecture,

Second Empire (architecture) Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

and Italianate, of which style the Lawrence House shows many fine details.

Notable people

, ship builder * Willard Miller, Spanish–American War hero; recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

Film

The story for the television drama "The Night They Killed Joe Howe" (1960) (TV drama), starring

Douglas Rain Douglas James Rain (March 13, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian actor and narrator. Although primarily a stage actor, he is perhaps best known for his voicing of the HAL 9000 computer in the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) and i ...

Austin Willis Alexander Austin Willis, (30 September 1917 – 4 April 2004) was a Canadian actor and television host. Biography Austin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to parents Alexander Samuel and Emma Graham (Pushie) Willis. His older brother, J. Fran ...

and Star Trek's

James Doohan James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series '' Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottis ...

, was located in Maitland, Nova Scotia
Film Review

References

*{{cite book , author=Staff writer, title= Pilots Handbook of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases Vol. 1, publisher= Royal Canadian Air Force , date= c. 1942 Communities in Hants County, Nova Scotia General Service Areas in Nova Scotia