Riverport is a village in
Lunenburg County,
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 harbour of Ritcey Cove is free from shoals and safe from every wind, considered one of the finest in North America. Riverport is a five-minute drive to several public beaches including Hirtle's Beach, Kingsburg Beach, Oxner Beach, Rose Bay Beach and Spindler Beach.
Geography
Riverport is located approximately 120 kilometers from
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 ...
, 20 kilometers from
Bridgewater and 15 kilometers from
Lunenburg and across the river from
LaHave.
History
One of the first European explorers to discover the area was Samuel De Champlain in 1604 as part of the LaHave settlement. Between 1632 and 1636, Commander Isaac de Razilly created the First Capital of New France on the western river shore, later Riverport would form on the eastern side. During this time Fort Ste. Marie de Grace housed the colony and cannons line.
In 1634 the governor of Acadia, Isaac de Razilly, wrote, “Bordeaux vines have been planted that are doing very well,” making the first mention of wine grape cultivation anywhere in Canada
As time progressed forward to 1650, the eastern side of the LaHave River became known as Ance aux Huitres or Oyster Cove. This was also one of Sir
Nicholas Denys' headquarters and fishing stations, he having arrived at
LaHave, Nova Scotia
LaHave (''La Hève'') is a Canadian community in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. The community is located across the river from Riverport and approximately 15 kilometres from the town of Bridgewater. Once the capital of Acadia, it is located o ...
with de Racily. As business and government spending slowed, the French usage of the area slowed, as the capital at
Port-Royal, Nova Scotia and other settlements near
Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...
grew. From 1654 to 1667, after a devastating conflict between duelling Acadian governors d'Aulnay and La Tour (who shared a wife,
Jeanne Moutin, who effectively ruled Acadia throughout married first to d'Aulnay and then La Tour
the Denys brothers (Nicholas and Simon) moved from the area to the north.
A century later, under British rule,
Foreign Protestants
The Foreign Protestants were a group of French Lutheran and German Protestant immigrants to Nova Scotia. They largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town of Göttingen) and Dutch Village Road as well as Lunenburg. ...
arrived for settlement in Halifax in 1749 to 1752.
Ritcey's Cove
Ritcey's Cove began as 30 acre land lots issued for settlement which began in 1754 by the original
Foreign Protestants
The Foreign Protestants were a group of French Lutheran and German Protestant immigrants to Nova Scotia. They largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town of Göttingen) and Dutch Village Road as well as Lunenburg. ...
settlers. One of the original settlers in this community was Johann Phillip Henericie. Through time and language practices traditional German language adapted to local market requirements and eventually adapted to English. Over the years, the "Henericie" name became known as "Ritcey" and Ritcey's Cove.
As Ritcey's Cove grew and other communities such as Kingsburg, Feltzen South and Middle LaHave influenced Ritcey's Cove, local families including Creaser, Smith, Oxner, Himmelman, Conrad, Mosher and Zinck families made a name change necessary. Simon Ritcey, direct descendant of Johann Phillip Henericie, chaired the meeting.
In 1902 "Riverport" and "Fairhaven" were the choices, the vote was tied and Riverport was chosen by the chairman's deciding ballot. In 1904, by an Act of Parliament, Ritcey's Cove was renamed to present day Riverport. Riverport's name was established by the people during the fourth year of
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
's reign.
Shipbuilding, sailing, and rum-running
From its location, ship building became an important industry in the early 1800s. In 1820, the settlers engaged in Labrador fishing and the first two vessels built for bank fishing including the "Valiant". In 1910 there was a fleet of 18 salt fishing
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
s. This eventually increased to 28 including the ''Mona Marie'' and ''
Delawana'' of the 1920 Canadian representative for the International Fisherman Vessel Championship. The following year the ''
Bluenose
''Bluenose'' was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, ''Bluenose'' under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and ...
'' was built and won the title of the International Fisherman Vessel Championship for the six annual races that were held.
One of the most majestic buildings in Riverport is the former Myrtle Hotel. This building is steeped with story and is a place that
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
was reputed to be a return visitor during
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
. Given secluded location, proximity to the ocean and the notable number of men from the community of Riverport involved in
rum-running
Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...
it is likely.
A century later, Covey Island Boatworks utilized their strategic space at Kraut Point to form the entire ''
Bluenose II
''Bluenose II'' is a replica of the fishing and racing schooner '' Bluenose'', commissioned by Sidney Culverwell Oland and built in 1963 as a promotional yacht for Oland Brewery. Sidney Oland donated the schooner to Nova Scotia in 1971 and it h ...
'' backbone of laminated ribs to start a new era of schooner history. Then followed up this project with the notable project building all ten spars, standing and running rigging, mast hoops for the replica iconic American Schooner Columbia, a noted competitor.
Nova Scotia Schooner Association Race Week has been a recent addition to the communities portfolio of events. In 2013, the Nova Scotia Schooner Association brought their event for three days to Riverport after 51 years of racing. In spirit of this amazing location, the fleet experienced such a great time with constant sea breeze and lively community spirit. The returning 2014 Nova Scotia Schooner Association Race Week was an even greater event as featured in
Canadian Yachting
''Canadian Yachting'' is a bi-monthly (six issues a year) magazine, and boating news website which documents the Canadian yachting scene - from dinghies to keelboats, cruising to racing, youth sailing and around the world events.kerwil.com: "Ab ...
Magazine.
On October 5, 2014, the Bridgewater Triathlon Club hosted the 9th Annual Riverport Duathlon, in Riverport, Nova Scotia - selected by Triathlon Nova Scotia as the 2014 Nova Scotia Provincial
Duathlon
Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally.
Distance and format
...
Championship and by
Triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
Canada as a qualifying race for the 2015 World Duathlon Championships to be held in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. This is the only race east of Quebec to be afforded this honour.
Economy
Electric grid
Unique to the area is the Riverport Electric Light Commission (RELC). In 1920, the RELC became the first municipally incorporated electric utility in Nova Scotia. Today the independent RELC is still the first of six power utilities independent of
Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a vertical integration, vertically integrated electric utility in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB). Nov ...
, a subsidiary of
Emera Incorporated, who co-operate in the
Municipal Electric Utilities of Nova Scotia Cooperative Limited. A seventh community,
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929.
History
Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River ...
, had sold its utility to NSPI at approximately the same time that MEUNSCL was formed, in 1997–98.
The vast of Lunenburg County that this utility covers is essentially the same size as the
City of Halifax
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
with a much less dense population. The communities serviced by RELC include
Five Houses,
Lower LaHave,
East LaHave and
Middle LaHave,
Upper and
Lower Rose Bay,
Upper and
Lower Kingsburg.
Unlike the nearby Lunenburg and Mahone Bay utilities, the other three (in
Berwick,
Antigonish
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
,
Canso
The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is a representative body of companies that provide air traffic control. It represents the interests of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). CANSO members are responsible for supporting ov ...
and the former utility in Kentville, Riverport's is managed more like a
utility cooperative
A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profit (accounting), Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distrib ...
, with commissioners from each constituent community. In the US, there are about 900 of these in rural areas, as compared to about 2000 where the grid is run by the local council. The Nova Scotia association has little formal function, as contrasted to very active associations of rural co-operatives, for example Kentucky's.
Riverport Electric Light Commission has a reputation for reliability; Its grid has attracted new businesses and professionals who work from home largely as a result of that making it one of the best places in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Marine
Lunenburg County boatbuilding is alive along the river anchored by Covey Island Boatworks based in Lunenburg, using the historical site of Kraut Point where local and international clients which uses the Riverport boat yard facilities to construct custom built yachts. Their boats are primarily constructed using laminated wood and epoxy techniques.
Some notable construction activities occurring at Covey Islands Boatworks Riverport facility included the forming of the ribs for the Canadian Schooner ''
Bluenose II
''Bluenose II'' is a replica of the fishing and racing schooner '' Bluenose'', commissioned by Sidney Culverwell Oland and built in 1963 as a promotional yacht for Oland Brewery. Sidney Oland donated the schooner to Nova Scotia in 1971 and it h ...
'' reconstruction and the masts for the replica iconic American Schooner ''Columbia''.
Dagley's Boatworks in East LaHave also builds and repairs vessels along with several more smaller builders.
Real estate
The real estate market has been important to the area through the development of the Feltzen South area, later the Kingsburg area and now the entire area as a whole. This trend began with the investment of European buyers purchasing very undervalued land in the 1980s. Today all district communities enjoy high values due to the close proximity to ocean access and view.
Fishing
Fish landing are primarily with Ocean Choice International's freezer trawler as its Kraut Point, Nova Scotia base for the off shore
scallop
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
fishing industry and ship repairs. Landings are sent to facilities for further processing as does many smaller independent vessels participating in the in and off shore fisheries. Other various species of fish and crustaceans brought ashore include
haddock
The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...
,
cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
,
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...
,
lox
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...
,
snow crab
''Chionoecetes'' is a genus of crabs that live in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
The genus ''Chionoecetes'' currently contains seven distinct species.
Other names for crabs in this genus include "queen crab" (in Canada) and "spider ...
and
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 ...
.
The village experienced a devastating fire in 1982 fire destroyed much of the fishing operations, though the spirit of the community has not diminished over the years. The Kraut Point facility that remains is a small footprint of a much larger facility that employed over 600 people, making Ritcey Bros Seafoods and its predecessor, H.B. Nickerson Seafood's one of the largest employers in Lunenburg County. Since that time the facility was owned by Fisheries Products International, the current-day Ocean Choice International.
Culture
Organizations
Local organizations calling the area home includes, IOOF Lodge, Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy, Trinity Fiddlers, Riverport District Board of Trade and Community Development Committee, Riverport Lions Club, Riverport and Area Community Choir,
Riverport United Church Pastoral Charge, Riverport District Community Center and Lady Auxiliary, Riverport District Fire Department and Lady Auxiliary, St. Mark's Place and The Old Confidence Lodge Studio and Stage.
Activities
Some local activities include live music all summer at
The Ovens, musical artists perform live and record at the Old Confidence Lodge, various community potluck events and the rumhaven for the Riverport Rum Runners Sea Festival weekend. Three major annual events travel through the district, the Osprey 5 km Run/Walk, the Lunenburg-Riverport Road Race and the Riverport Duathlon. Three religious denominations are based in the Riverport District, Presbyterian, Lutheran and United Churches.
In popular culture
Riverport was one of the filming locations for the 1995 film ''
Dolores Claiborne
''Dolores Claiborne'' () is a 1992 psychological thriller novel by Stephen King. The novel is narrated by the title character. Atypically for a King novel, it has no chapters, double-spacing between paragraphs, or other section breaks; thus, t ...
,'' based on the
Stephen King novella of the same name. The film was shot in various places around Nova Scotia, especially the
South Shore and
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. St ...
.
References
External links
Kingsburg Nova Scotia Community AssociationKingsburg Coastal ConservancyMunicipality of the District of Lunenburg
{{Subdivisions of Nova Scotia
Communities in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia
General Service Areas in Nova Scotia