The St. Croix River is a river 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 ...
entirely contained in
Hants and
Halifax Counties. Its headwaters are Panuke Lake. The river has been exploited for water power. There were water mills in the nineteenth century and in the 1930s three hydroelectric dams were built; they still operate.
The lower reaches of the St. Croix are tidal. There is a wide flood plain where the river has cut through limestone bedrock now exposed as white cliffs. The calcareous soil harbours the rare Rams Head Lady Slipper.
The Nova Scotia Government estimates that the number of people living within the St. Croix watershed numbered 19,233 in 2011.
History
The river and (Panuk - Mi’kmaw Village) Panuke Lake (was once a river frequented by spawning salmon before it was dammed, displacing the Indigenous peoples) were used as an important portage route first by the Mi'kmaq and later by European explorers and settlers. There is an unpopulated Indian reserve (St Croix Indian Reserve) on the lake.
European settlement began with the Acadians (who named the river, calling the region Pisiguit).
The Battle at St Croix (1750)
The
Battle at St. Croix happened between New England Rangers and the Mi'kmaq. To capture the Acadians involved in the British defeat at the Fort Logis, Grand Pre the previous year, Cornwallis sent
John Gorham (military officer)
John Gorham (Goreham, Gorum) (12 December 1709-December 1751) was a New England Ranger and was the first significant British military presence on the frontier of Nova Scotia and Acadia to remain in the region for a substantial period after the Co ...
to Piziquid to construct
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site of Canada in Windsor, Nova Scotia, (formerly known as Pisiguit) and was built during Father Le Loutre's War (1749-1755). The British built the fort to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The ...
and imprison the Acadians. After two days of marching from Fort Sackville (present day Bedford), they come to the St Croix River. At the river a battle broke out with the Mi'kmaq. Gorham took over a saw mill and two local Acadian homes for protection. The Mi'kmaq numbers continued to grow, therefore Gorham sent a messenger to Fort Sackville for reinforcements, which ended the battle.
After 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 pe ...
,
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ( ...
settled the area. Extensive land grants were let by the Nova Scotia colonial government beginning in 1761.
Today, the St. Croix is a popular river for canoe and kayaking enthusiasts.
[Canoe Kayak Nova Scoti]
Description of Valley canoe routes
/ref> The lower floodplains are dyked and farmed. The river's tidal bore may be viewed at Tidal View Farm.
See also
*List of rivers of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia's rivers all flow into the Atlantic Ocean through four unique watersheds: the Gulf of Maine, the Northumberland Strait, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and into the Atlantic Ocean itself.
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine system includes ...
References
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Rivers of Nova Scotia