Tor Bay is a small

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

community in the Canadian province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, located in the

Municipality of the District of Guysborough Guysborough, officially the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, is a Canadian List of district municipalities in Nova Scotia#District municipality, district municipality in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Guysborough County, Nova Scoti ...

Guysborough County Guysborough County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The area was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq, and was colonized by France in the 17th century. Following the defeat of France in North America, the area w ...

. It is located at the south-western end of a bay of the same name.

History

In the 1830s, fishing vessels of between 40 and 120 tons were being built here. Tor Bay was the termination site of an early

transatlantic telegraph cable Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is a largely obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and dat ...

laid in 1875 to Ballinskelligs, Ireland—a distance of . A cable laid in 1874 connected Tor Bay to

Rye Beach, New Hampshire Rye Beach is an unincorporated community along the Atlantic Ocean in Rye, New Hampshire, United States. It is located along New Hampshire Route 1A near the southern border of the town of Rye, directly south of Jenness State Beach and north of L ...

, United States—a distance of . In 1874, the Direct United States Cable Company landed at Tor Bay, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Known as the Faraday Station, and only some thirty miles from Canso; it operated until 1887. Captain Savalette was a fisherman from St. Jean De Luz, France, who used the shores and islands of Tor Bay to carry out his viable fishery by catching and drying his fish here during the 1500s and 1600s. He carried on his trade for many years from 1565 onward. Acadians celebrate Festival Savalette August 5th-8th every year. Captain Zabaleta of Donibane Lohitzun (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) had spent 42 summers at “Port Savalet” in Nova Scotia, where Samuel de Champlain met him in 1609 and named the place in his honor. Tor Bay Provincial Park: Picturesque picnic area on a rocky point looking out to the open Atlantic, 8 km (5 mi) south of Larry's River. Sweeping sand beaches; boardwalks and interpretive displays describing natural environment as well as historical significance of this site as landing point for first trans-Atlantic cable. A designated Parks Canada National Historic Site Monument, Place Savalette is located in Port Felix on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore and is recognized as a pioneering location of the “dry fishery” in Acadia.

References

Communities in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia {{GuysboroughNS-geo-stub