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Sheet Harbour is a
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
community in
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 located in the eastern reaches of 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 ...
, approximately northeast of the central urban area of the municipality, concentrated on
Downtown Halifax Downtown Halifax is the primary central business district of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Municipality of Halifax. Located on the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour. Along with Downtown Dartmouth, and other de facto ...
and Dartmouth. The community is located along the
Marine Drive Marine Drive may refer to: Roads Bangladesh * Cox Bazar-Tekhnaf Marine Drive, world's longest marine drive road. Canada *Marine Drive (Nova Scotia), a scenic route in Nova Scotia * Marine Drive (Greater Vancouver), a number of roadways in Metro ...
scenic route on Trunk 7 at its junctions with Route 224 and Route 374. Surrounding the branched harbour which its name is derived from, the community has a population of about 800 and its respective census tract, containing sizable amounts of land around the community, has a population of 3,478 as of the 2011 Census. Two rivers,
West River West River may refer to: Rivers Canada *West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia * West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia * West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia * West ...
and
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
, flow through the community and into the Northwest and Northeast Arms of the harbour respectively. The coastline of the community is heavily eroded and the region in which the community is located has an abundance of lakes. The region has a humid continental climate, congruent with the majority of Nova Scotia, and the ocean significantly influences the temperature. The
Miꞌkmaq 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 nort ...
referred to the area around present-day Sheet Harbour as ''Weijooik'', meaning "flowing wildly". The majority of the land that the community occupies was granted in 1773, and a colony was established thereafter in 1784 by
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
refugees and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
veterans 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 Revolut ...
. The settlement was labelled as "Port North" on the Royal Navy Chart published in 1778, and retained this name until 1805. Alternate names such as Campbelltown and Manchester were proposed for the settlement, but the name was ultimately changed to Sheet Harbour, named for a rock at the entrance to the harbour resembling a sheet, to provide a more descriptive name for the settlement. Sheet Harbour became a prosperous hub for the lumber industry. A sawmill was built around 1863 at the tide head of East River, though its operating company dissolved a few years later due to financial issues. The first
sulphide Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds la ...
pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ful ...
in Canada was built in 1885 at East River. The mill closed in 1891 due to the cost of importing sulphide. The first bank in Sheet Harbour, a branch of the
Bank of Nova Scotia The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
, was built in 1921. The establishment was moved to a new building in 1929, and again in 1959. Electrical lines were first run into the community in late 1925. A ground-wood pulp mill owned by the American Pulp and Wrapping Paper Co. of
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
produced its first ground-wood pulp on October 5, 1925. Located along West River near its
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
at the head of the Northwest Arm, the mill remained in operation until it was destroyed by
Hurricane Beth Hurricane Beth was a short-lived tropical cyclone which traveled from Florida to Nova Scotia in the middle of August 1971. The second named storm of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season, Beth's genesis was impeded by a cold environment surrounding ...
in 1971. The first efforts to bring a hospital to Sheet Harbour began in the mid 1940s sparked by Duncan MacMillan, a longtime physician in the area. The project was given unanimous approval at subsequent meetings, and Leslie R. Fairn was enlisted as the architect, as well as John Smiley and later Robert MacDonald, as contractors. Construction began in 1947 and the Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital was opened on May 24, 1949, with a ceremony in which
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Angus L. MacDonald Angus Lewis Macdonald (August 10, 1890 – April 13, 1954), popularly known as 'Angus L.', was a Canadian lawyer, law professor and politician from Nova Scotia. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940, when he became ...
officiated. It was operated as an outpost hospital by the Canadian Red Cross until 1954, after which the local residents operated it until 1959. The hospital has been operated by the Nova Scotia Government thereafter. The East River Bridge was built across the Northeast Arm in 1957 to replace its predecessor. It was a long green arch bridge and its ribs were reinforced heavily in 1988. It was replaced by a long multi-span bridge of the same name which began construction in 2014 and opened fully on December 18, 2015. Marine Drive Academy, the only school in the Sheet Harbour area, was opened in 2020. Sidewalks were laid through the main downtown area and
mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''anc ...
s were installed in the harbour in 2010 and 2017 respectively. A deep-water dock and accompanying industrial park was built in the 1990s on the western shore of the harbour. It serviced the
Sable Offshore Energy Project The Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) is a consortium based in Halifax, Nova Scotia which explores for and produced natural gas near Sable Island on the edge of the Nova Scotian continental shelf in eastern Canada. SOEP produced between 400 a ...
, due to it being the closest terminal to the project, and is in close proximity to major intercontinental shipping routes. Several franchises have establishments in Sheet Harbour, including
Foodland "FoodLand" is a regional American supermarket chain based in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. The unique "F" logo of the supermarket chain is a registered trademark of Minnesota-based SuperValu, which serves as the chain's main wholesale distributor ...
,
Home Hardware Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the chain is co-operatively owned by over ...
and the
Nova Scotia Liquor Commission The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) is the Crown corporation which controls sales of alcoholic beverages and recreational cannabis in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the sole distributor for these products and runs all retail outlets (108 acr ...
. An
RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
detachment and a branch of the
Halifax Public Libraries Halifax Public Libraries (HPL) is a Canadian public library system serving residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the largest public library system in Nova Scotia, with over 2.8 million visits to library branches and 172,520 active registered ...
are present within the community as well, along with the aforementioned hospital and high school.


Geography


Location

Sheet Harbour is a small rural community located on the
Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia * Eastern Shore of Maryland, a region * Eastern Shore of Virginia, a region * Eastern Shore (Al ...
of
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 ...
, in the eastern area of 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 ...
. Sheet Harbour is located slightly more northward compared to other coastal communities in the area, due to the shape of the harbour. The population of the census tract for the Sheet Harbour area is 3,478 as of the 2011 Census. Census tracts are small divisions of land that are used for statistics gathering by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
that usually have a population of 2,500 to 8,000. Each census tract has a numerical designation. The population of the community proper is about 800. West of Sheet Harbour lies
Sheet Harbour 36 Sheet Harbour 36 is a Mi'kmaq reserve located in on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Part of the reserve is located just west of Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. The reserve's borders also includes a t ...
, a small
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 ...
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
. The community of Sheet Harbour is located along the shores of the harbour of the same name, a branched
saltwater Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
. Extending from the convergence of the two arms below Church Point, the wider Northwest Arm travels until it meets the
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
of West River at the West River Falls. There is a very small island in the arm. Six moorings were installed in the arm in the Spring of 2017. The Northeast Arm is the more narrow arm and extends generally northeastward under the East River Bridge until it meets the mouth of the East River. Beyond the convergence of the arms, the harbour is known as Sheet Harbour. It is wider than both arms and is approximately eleven to fifteen metres (36–49 ft) deep at low tide. The harbour gradually widens as it travels southeastward toward the Atlantic, passing the Sheet Harbour Industrial Port as well as the small community of Watt Section. The area around Sheet Harbour is heavily forested and rich in lakes. The shore is very rocky and
eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust, and then sediment transport, tra ...
, as is commonplace on the Eastern Shore. Sheet Harbour has an average tidal range of about .


Rivers

Several rivers and small streams empty into the arms of the harbour. West River begins near
Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way t ...
. The main branch of the river is about long. The river has two secondary branches, the Killag River, which is long, and Little River, which is long. Many lakes and ponds in the region flow into the river through numerous smaller rivers and streams. The river flows through Sheet Harbour Lake, and narrows back in to a river near the West River Bridge, where Trunk 7 passes over the West River. The West River Falls carry the river from elevation down to sea level, where it empties into the Northwest Arm. The river area has been deforested and is prone to
flash-flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ov ...
ing. Sheet Harbour was the first community in North America to use a lime doser on one of its rivers. which sprays limestone into the water to stabilize pH levels. Dosing began in September 2005 in West River. It was successful in stabilizing the pH of the river at 5.5, a healthy level for
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
and other aquatic life. Grand Lake, a large lake west of Sheet Harbour, also empties into the Northwest Arm via West Lake and Little West River in West Sheet Harbour. The river flows into the Northwest Arm via West Cove. East River, formally East River Sheet Harbour, is the other main river that discharges into the harbour. Originating in the Marshall Flowage, the river flows southward past the Ruth Falls Power Plant, a
hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...
generating station. It narrows back into a river for the remainder of its watercourse, then flows into the head of the Northeast Arm.


Climate

The closest weather station to Sheet Harbour is in Malay Falls, about northeast of the community. As with most of the province, Sheet Harbour has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
, and the temperature is heavily influenced by the ocean.


History


18th and 19th centuries

The
Miꞌkmaq 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 nort ...
name for the area around where Sheet Harbour is today was ''Weijooik'', which translates to "flowing wildly". Almost all of the present land area of Sheet Harbour was granted in 1773, and the settlement was established around 1784, by
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
refugees and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
veterans 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 Revolut ...
and became a prosperous centre for the
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 ...
industry. Sheet Harbour was named "Port North" on the Royal Navy Chart that was published in 1778. In January 1805, the ship Salisbury was wrecked off of Sheet Harbour and nine of the crew were lost. The settlement was referred to as Port North until 1807. Alternate names for the settlement were Campbelltown and Manchester. Campbelltown would have been named after Lord William Campbell, who was a Captain General as well as a Governor-in-Chief from 1776–73. It was decided that "Port North" was not descriptive enough, so the name was changed to Sheet Harbour, starting in 1818 because of a white, flat rock at the entrance to the harbour that looks like a sheet, named Sheet Rock. The population of the settlement in 1818 was 156. A church was built soon after the founding of the settlement, but was in a state of disrepair by 1815. A new church was built on the site by 1837. Around 1863, a sawmill was built at the tide head of the East River Sheet Harbour, by Demming and McFarlane, a lumber company. However, they did not succeed financially, and they dissolved a few years later. Another church was constructed in the community in 1860 and a post office was opened in the community in May 1873. New schools were built in 1867 at Sheet Harbour and East River, and at West Sheet Harbour in the 1870s. A
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
hall was built at Church Point in 1869. In October 1885, the Halifax Wood Fibre Company built the first
sulphide Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds la ...
pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ful ...
in Canada at East River, Sheet Harbour. Since the discovery of the sulphite process happened earlier in 1866, the news had traveled to William Chisholm, who was a lumber manufacturer in Halifax. Chisholm decided to test the method at the head of East River. He had 60 thousand acres (24,281 hectares, or 242 km2) of woodland on the Sheet Harbour rivers. The mill closed in January 1891, due to the high costs of importing sulphide from the United States. The cookhouse which was used at the mill was bought by the residents of Watt Section and was floated down the harbour to the community. A bridge was built over East River and was opened on January 15, 1889. A school was constructed at East River in 1897.


20th century

A school was built at West River in 1903 to replace its predecessor which was destroyed in a fire. A new Freemasons hall was built in the same year, and its predecessor became a
Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
. The first bank in Sheet Harbour, a branch of the
Bank of Nova Scotia The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
, was opened in 1921. The branch still exists, however it is operated from a different building than the original. The second location of the bank, a two-storey building, was built in 1929. The present location of the bank was built in 1959. In 1922, a ground-wood pulp mill, owned by the American Pulp and Wrapping Paper Co. of Albany, began operation on the West River at the head of the Northwest Arm of Sheet Harbour. They had purchased it from the previous owners who were a lumber company. In 1925, the company had the Fairchild Aerial Survey Company of the United States take aerial photographs of the company limits, as well as the adjoining Crown land. This was the first aerial survey done by a company in Nova Scotia. The mill produced its first ground-wood pulp on October 5, 1925. It remained in operation until it was destroyed by
Hurricane Beth Hurricane Beth was a short-lived tropical cyclone which traveled from Florida to Nova Scotia in the middle of August 1971. The second named storm of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season, Beth's genesis was impeded by a cold environment surrounding ...
in August 1971. The first electrical lines were run into Sheet Harbour in the fall of 1925. The first line ran along the shore and was an offshoot of the line that ran to the mill, which received its power from the Ruth Falls power plant along East River. A second line was built in 1928 along the west side of the highway to provide street lighting. A lighting ceremony was held after all of the houses in the community had been wired. The first efforts were made to establish a hospital in Sheet Harbour in the spring of 1945. The effort was sparked by Duncan MacMillan, a doctor who had been serving the Sheet Harbour area for about 20 years at the time. A meeting was held in early 1946 at the Masonic Hall in Sheet Harbour. Representatives of the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Red Cross were in attendance. The plan was given unanimous approval at the meeting and steps were taken to organize an official hospital board, which was incorporated in March 1946 by the Nova Scotia Legislature. An enthusiastic funding campaign was started afterward. The hospital board then engaged an architect, Leslie R. Fairn, to design the hospital. The plans called for a 21-bed
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
style building. John Smiley was engaged as the contractor for the project, and was later succeeded by Robert MacDonald. Construction began in 1947. The total cost of construction was $170,000, with $34,000 contributed by the provincial and federal governments, while the remaining $136,000 was contributed by the residents of the Sheet Harbour area. The Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital was opened with an official ceremony on May 24, 1949, which
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Angus L. MacDonald Angus Lewis Macdonald (August 10, 1890 – April 13, 1954), popularly known as 'Angus L.', was a Canadian lawyer, law professor and politician from Nova Scotia. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940, when he became ...
officiated. The Canadian Red Cross equipped the hospital and ran it as an outpost hospital from its opening until July 15, 1954. The responsibility of the hospital was then shifted to the residents of the area, and administered by the hospital board. The hospital came under the plan of the Nova Scotia Hospital Insurance Commission on January 1, 1959. It has been administered under that plan up to the present day. A two-room elementary school was built around 1955 at East River. The population of Sheet Harbour in 1956 was 1,073. A
steel arch bridge A through arch bridge, also known as a through-type arch bridge, is a bridge that is made from materials such as steel or reinforced concrete, in which the base of an arch structure is below the deck but the top rises above it. It can either be lo ...
, named the East River Bridge, was built in 1956 over the Northeast Arm. The bridge opened to traffic in December 1957. It was a green bridge which had a half-through, two-hinge type arch, as well as a built-up box-cross section for support. The bridge was in length, with a main span of . It spanned the Northeast Arm of Sheet Harbour, just north of the new bridge. The structure had engineering ties with the
Angus L. MacDonald Bridge The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada; it opened on April 2, 1955. The bridge is one of two suspension bridges linking the Halifax Peninsula to Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Mu ...
in Halifax. The deck carried the two lanes of Trunk 7, and was hung from the arch by vertical steel hangers. The ribs of the bridge were reinforced heavily in 1988.
Sheet Harbour Consolidated School Sheet Harbour Consolidated School was a school located in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, which welcomed students from grades primary through six. The school was a peanut/nut safe school. In April 2008, Sheet Harbour achieved the Green School ...
(SHCS) was an elementary school in the community. It was built in 1957, and served grades primary through six. In the 1990s, the
Government of Nova Scotia The Government of Nova Scotia (french: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, gd, Riaghaltas Alba Nuadh) refers to the provincial government of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is one of Canada's ...
built a common user deep water dock and industrial park just west of Sheet Harbour, named the Sheet Harbour Industrial Port. It is currently operated by the
Halifax Port Authority The Port of Halifax comprises various port facilities in Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It covers of land, and looks after of water. Strategically located as North America's first inbound and last outbound gateway, the port of ...
. It currently ships
wood chips Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw material f ...
for the pulp industry and imports
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
segments, which are then transported across Nova Scotia and to the rest of North America. The port was used to service the
Sable Offshore Energy Project The Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) is a consortium based in Halifax, Nova Scotia which explores for and produced natural gas near Sable Island on the edge of the Nova Scotian continental shelf in eastern Canada. SOEP produced between 400 a ...
with natural gas pipes processed at coating plant therefore making them suitable for placement on the ocean floor. The port is the closest marine terminal to the fields, at a distance of . It is also approximately west of the Great Circle Route, a major shipping route between North America and Europe. The docking area is long and wide. It also has of
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
, which is connected to a concrete pad.


21st century

Sidewalks were built through the main downtown area of Sheet Harbour in 2010. They cost approximately $2.9 million (US$2.4 million). Watts Wind Energy, Inc. built a wind turbine in Watt Section, a small community east of Sheet Harbour. It was the outcome of favourable wind data that was obtained by a meteorological tower near the future site of the wind turbine. It was constructed in 2010 and was producing power by October 2011. It stands tall and produces about 1.5 MW of electricity, powering 375 households. A motion was put forward to the former Halifax Regional School Board in 2012 to review the schools within the Duncan MacMillan High catchment area. The review was conducted and concerns were raised about the aging facilities as well as a high transfer rate and commute time for faculty. Boundary changes were proposed – the catchment area was the largest in the board – but proved highly unpopular among the populace. The HRSB publicly announced the project to build a new P-12 school in the Sheet Harbour area on December 23, 2013. Three sites in and around Sheet Harbour were proposed, but it was decided in 2016 to construct the facility on the then current ground of SHCS and DMHS. SHCS was closed in 2017 to provide clearance for the new structure. Lakefront Consolidated Elementary in
Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
was closed in 2019 as a part of the consolidation process associated with the plan. Students from both schools were amalgamated into DMHS soon thereafter. 61 potential names for the new school were submitted by the public in the collection period from February to March of 2019. The list was narrowed down to two definite candidates, though consensus could not be reached on a third and the two names were put to a vote. Students of DMHS and LCS voted in April 2019 on the third submission. From the top three names, the name selected for the new facility by the associated naming committee was Marine Drive Academy. The school opened in September 2020. The East River Bridge was built from 2014 through 2015 to replace its predecessor of the same name. The
Nova Scotia Government The Government of Nova Scotia (french: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, gd, Riaghaltas Alba Nuadh) refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is one of Canada's four Atlantic Provinces, and the se ...
had proposed minor repairs, but they decided that an entirely new bridge would be more cost-effective. The new bridge was designed, unlike its predecessor, without large, overhead steel arches, because it would have been twice as expensive to build. The new bridge was constructed on the same site as the old bridge's predecessor which was constructed just south of the East River Bridge in 1907. The bridge cost $19,000,000 (US$14,671,644) to build and construction began in September 2014. The contractor,
Dexter Construction Dexter Construction Limited is a construction and environmental services company based in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. Its activities include road paving, open-pit mining, equipment rental, soil reclamation, and contracting. Dexter is part of the ...
, poured 2,260 cubic metres (79,811 cubic feet) of concrete over of
rebar Rebar (short for reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or reinforcement steel, is a steel bar used as a Tension (physics), tension device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid the concr ...
. The new bridge relies on two pillars set in the
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
below the Northeast Arm. A deck, along with railings and sidewalks, were laid when it was nearing completion. The bridge was officially opened on December 17, 2015, to pedestrians and opened the next day to traffic. Road adjustments were made on the Sheet Harbour side of the bridge to accommodate it. Trunk 7 was aligned with what was formerly Riverside Drive, Church Point Road and Pool Road were slightly modified and the access road to
Duncan MacMillan High School Duncan MacMillan High School (DMHS) was a P-12 school in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was replaced by Marine Drive Academy. Duncan MacMillan High hosts grades primary–12, as well as a pre-primary program and teaches 249 students. It ...
was slightly modified as well. Sprott Lane, a minor loop, was extended along a part of the old Trunk 7 for a few households. Shortly after the new bridge was opened, the old East River Bridge was closed and was demolished through 2016.


Economy

Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital (ESMH) is a hospital in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. It is operated by Nova Scotia Health Authority. Services * Palliative and Respite Care * Acute Care * Outpatient/Emergency * Ambulatory Care * Diagnostic Imag ...
serves the Sheet Harbour area. Construction began in 1947, and the hospital was opened on May 24, 1949. It is administered by the
Nova Scotia Health Authority The Nova Scotia Health Authority is a provincial health authority serving Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest employer in the province, with more than 23,000 employees, 2,500 physicians and 7,000 volunteers working from 45 different facilities. ...
. It has sixteen beds for patients. There is a
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
and gardens in front of the site where
Duncan MacMillan Nursing Home The Duncan MacMillan Nursing Home (DMNH) was a 25-bed nursing home in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada. It was built in 1948 as the Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital, and was repurposed into a nursing home after a new wing, which would become the E ...
(DMNH) previously stood. The hospital offers several services and is connected to Harbourview Lodge through a corridor. Harbourview Lodge was built in 2011 to replace DMNH, which was nearing the end of its life span. The community also has a local radio station, broadcasting on 94.7 FM as Sheet Harbour Radio. Sheet Harbour has a Chamber of Commerce. It was formed in 1935, and was formerly known as the Sheet Harbour Board of Trade. They comprise more than 25 of the businesses in the Sheet Harbour area and they also operate a Visitor Information Centre at the MacPhee House, situated on the site of the ground-wood pulp mill just east of the West River Bridge, where Trunk 7 crosses the West River at the entrance to Sheet Harbour. There is a community museum at the MacPhee House and they have a collection interpreting "Life before plastic". Sheet Harbour also has an
RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
detachment and a fire station, as well as a Ground Search and Rescue team. The community also hosts a
Foodland "FoodLand" is a regional American supermarket chain based in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. The unique "F" logo of the supermarket chain is a registered trademark of Minnesota-based SuperValu, which serves as the chain's main wholesale distributor ...
grocery store, a
Home Hardware Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the chain is co-operatively owned by over ...
store, an
NSLC The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) is the Crown corporation which controls sales of alcoholic beverages and recreational cannabis in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the sole distributor for these products and runs all retail outlets (108 acros ...
liquor store, a post office and a branch of the
Halifax Public Libraries Halifax Public Libraries (HPL) is a Canadian public library system serving residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the largest public library system in Nova Scotia, with over 2.8 million visits to library branches and 172,520 active registered ...
. Sheet Harbour also has three gas stations. These gas stations include an Irving location, a location of Wilson's Gas Stops, and a Treaty Gas location. Eastern Shore Cartage serves the area. The community is home to a
Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
branch as well as a branch of the East Coast Credit Union. A park surrounds the West River Falls, and there are two motels in the community as well. There is also a campground in the community, which is located near the mouth of the East River.
Taylor Head Provincial Park Taylor Head Beach is a provincial park on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located southwest of Sheet Harbour, near the community of Spry Bay. The park has of sandy beach A beach is a landform alongside a body o ...
is located ten minutes west of Sheet Harbour. Every August, the "Seaside Festival" is hosted by the local
Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...
. The 2610
Royal Canadian Army Cadet The Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC; french: Cadets royaux de l’Armée canadienne) is a national Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Under the authority of the National D ...
Corps is based in Sheet Harbour. They were originally formed on October 1, 1957, but were disbanded on December 31, 1973. Twelve years later, the corps was reformed on February 1, 1985 and is still active today. They have won the Strathcona cup, an award that is given to the best performing cadet corps in Nova Scotia, five times. Marine Drive Academy is the only school in the Sheet Harbour area. It serves grades primary through twelve and was opened in September 2020. It replaced
Duncan MacMillan High School Duncan MacMillan High School (DMHS) was a P-12 school in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was replaced by Marine Drive Academy. Duncan MacMillan High hosts grades primary–12, as well as a pre-primary program and teaches 249 students. It ...
and its family of schools. As of 2020, 256 students were enrolled in the school.


Notable residents

* Duncan MacMillan (1897–1969), Liberal Party politician, member of the
Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...
from 1956–63 and 1967–69, physician and surgeon * Tom McInnis (born 1945), member of the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
, former Conservative Party politician and member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1978–93


See also

*
Duncan MacMillan High School Duncan MacMillan High School (DMHS) was a P-12 school in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was replaced by Marine Drive Academy. Duncan MacMillan High hosts grades primary–12, as well as a pre-primary program and teaches 249 students. It ...
*
Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital (ESMH) is a hospital in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. It is operated by Nova Scotia Health Authority. Services * Palliative and Respite Care * Acute Care * Outpatient/Emergency * Ambulatory Care * Diagnostic Imag ...
* MacPhee House *
West River Sheet Harbour West River Sheet Harbour (locally known as West River) is a river on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Its headwaters are near the Musquodoboit Valley and the river flows southeast and empties in to th ...
*
East River Sheet Harbour East River Sheet Harbour (locally known as East River) is a river on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Its headwaters are at the Marshall Flowage near Malay Falls and the mouth of the river is at the ...
* East River Bridge (Sheet Harbour)


References

Notes Bibliography



External links


Community Website

Sheet Harbour Chamber of Commerce website





East River Bridge replacement article

Marine Drive Academy website
{{Halifax Regional Municipality Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia Populated coastal places in Canada Populated places established in 1784