Preston is an area in central

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, located on Trunk 7. Preston includes the subdivisions of East Preston, North Preston, Lake Major, Cherrybrook and Loon Lake. The definition sometimes extends to include Lake Echo. The population in 2016 was 3,223.Community Counts Home Page
/ref> This is a decline from 2006, when Preston had a population of 3,536.

Background

Preston, once known as Preston Township, previously was geographically much larger. The community's boundaries stretched westward past Westphal to Highway 111, and eastward through what is now Lake Echo and Porter's Lake to Myra Road (including through East Preston), north to North Preston, and south through parts to the boundaries of Lawrencetown). No community is known strictly as "Preston", rather it refers to the area encompassed by those subdivisions, or in reference to the Preston Electoral District. The area is believed to have been named after

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

, England or Thomas Preston, a British army officer involved in the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

at the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. It was among the areas where the Crown granted lands to Black Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies; it had promised them freedom and resettled more than 3,000 former slaves in Nova Scotia. Reflecting its early history, Preston has the largest percentage of black people of any area in Canada; 69.4% of its population is black. The

Black Nova Scotian Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial history of the United States, Colonial United States as Slavery in the United States, slaves ...

leader and clergyman,

Richard Preston Richard Preston (born August 5, 1954) is a writer for ''The New Yorker'' and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction. Biography Preston was born in Cambri ...

(b. 1792), took this surname after becoming reunited here with his mother, who was resettled in Preston along with others of the 2,000 black refugee slaves who gained freedom with the British during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

in the United States. Richard had bought his freedom from slavery in Virginia as an adult, and then went to Nova Scotia in search of his mother. He became a prominent Baptist preacher and political leader."Richard Preston" Biography, ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
/ref> Wayne Adams, the first Black MLA and Cabinet Minister in Nova Scotia, is from East Preston. A World Heavyweight contender in boxing,

Kirk Johnson Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2002. Amateur career Johnson represented Canada at the 1992 Olympics in Bar ...

, is from North Preston.

Notable residents

* Wayne Adams (b. 1943),

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

Gary Beals Gary Beals (born October 25, 1982) is a Canadian singer who is best known for being runner up in the first season of the reality television series '' Canadian Idol''. He is a resident of Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia and named "Best Halifamous Per ...

(b. 1982), R&B singer and Canadian Idol finalist * Custio Clayton (b. 1987), boxer *

(b. 1972), boxer * Mary Jane Katzmann (1828–1890),

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, and editor *

Dwayne Provo Dwayne Provo (born October 7, 1970) is a Canadian athlete, school administrator, and politician. Early life Provo was born in North Preston, Nova Scotia (one of Canada's largest Black communities) and attended university at Saint Mary's Univers ...

(b. 1970), politician and athlete

References

Explore HRM
Black Canadian settlements Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia General Service Areas in Nova Scotia {{HalifaxNS-geo-stub