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Waverley is a suburban community 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 ...
, 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 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 ...
. It has a rich history in
gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...
. It lies north of Dartmouth, and south of
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
.


History

Waverley was first settled by Charles Pillsbury Allen who established a chair factory in the area. Waverley was named after the
Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...
novels by
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
. Allen's original land purchase included about of land in 1847 for the price of 50 pounds. Although there have been extensive renovations since it was first built, his original house still stands today at 2550 Rocky Lake Drive as "An Olde Manor House Bed and Breakfast" near the junction of Lakes Thomas and William. A nearby high school,
Charles P. Allen High School Charles P. Allen High School (CPA) is a senior high school located in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. This school serves Hammonds Plains, Bedford and a section of Halifax since 2010; for three years at the original CPA and current location since 20 ...
in the neighbouring town of Bedford carries his name. Allen's son-in-law, Cornelius Blois, is often credited with discovering gold in Waverley. Two major gold mining periods ensued between 1861 through the early 20th century. Waverley became a boom town with highly skilled gold miners coming from Germany and England. Saloons, hotels, camp followers and the usual trappings of a gold town sprang up quickly, and there were even instances of murders and riots. A third attempt to restart the gold industry occurred years later in the 1930s, but it proved unprofitable and lasted only a few years. Other industries in Waverley have included
millwork Millwork is historically any wood mill produced decorative materials used in building construction. Stock profiled and patterned millwork building components fabricated by milling at a planing mill can usually be installed with minimal alter ...
ing and
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
. It is also worthy of note that the
Shubenacadie Canal The Shubenacadie Canal is a canal in central Nova Scotia, Canada. It links Halifax Harbour with the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River and Shubenacadie Grand Lake. Begun in 1826, it was not completed until 1861 and was closed in 1871. ...
system runs through Waverley, between Lake William and Lake Thomas. Many street names in Waverley reflect families that have been long established in the area. From the early 1930s until the mid-1980s, there existed in Waverley near the bridge, a service station operated and owned by Warren H. Isnor (deceased), and was up until the mid-1980s, the oldest existing service station with the same owner, in the province.


Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted 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 ...
, Waverley had a population of 858 living in 360 of its 373 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 813. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Modern day and landmarks

Modern-day Waverley is mostly a
bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
. Major landmarks included one
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
, newly built in September 2010, a
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
, the Waverley Manor retirement home, the Waverley Heritage Museum; which is housed in the former St. John's
Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
, Charles P. Allen House, and the Waverley Gold Mining Manager's House, which now operates as "The Adelaide Respite Care". There is a gravel quarry in the area, as well as the Nova Scotia Firefighters School. There is also th
Cheema Aquatic Club
a
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...
and kayak club which consistently produces high caliber National and Olympic Team athletes.


Gold Rush Days

Each
Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...
weekend, Waverley holds a celebration at a park known as "The Village Green" called 'Gold Rush Days', to commemorate its gold-mining history. Highlights include the Gold Rush Days Parade, karaoke, an arts and crafts show,
fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...
, and the Miss Waverley Gold Rush contest.


Gold Rush Gus

The mascot of Gold Rush Days is a cartoon character resembling
Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( /joʊˈsɛmɪti/ ''yoh-SEM-ih-tee'') is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park. He is an adversary of Bugs ...
called "Gold Rush Gus". Until the amalgamation of Waverley into the HRM in 1996, all fire apparatus of the Waverley Fire Department had a picture of him painted on the side. WFD vehicles also had the distinction of being the only ones in the local fire district at the time of being painted yellow; an homage to the village's gold mining history. Presently only those vehicles remaining in service from pre-amalgamation with their original yellow paint still carry Gus' image.


Halifax Regional Search and Rescue

Waverley is the original home of
Halifax Regional Search and Rescue Halifax Regional Search and Rescue is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to ground search and rescue primarily within Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It consists of a team of approximately 200 volunteers who respond ...
. On September 3, 1998, the organisation undertook the largest Mutual Aid Search operation in Nova Scotia's history. With the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Search and Rescue was charged with primary responsibility for all ground operations including military operations and other ground SAR teams. On November 5, 1998, 64 days later, volunteers had contributed 48,780 hours with 3,141 person days. The current headquarters of HRSR is located at 116 Lakeview Rd in the nearby community of Lakeview just over 4 kilometers from their original location.


Communications

* First three digits of the
postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
: **B2T, B2R * Area Code: ** 902,
782 __NOTOC__ Year 782 ( DCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 782 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in ...
* First three digits of
telephone number A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or to a wireless electronic telephony device, such as a radio telephone or a mobile telephone, or to other devices f ...
s: **861 - Aliant **576, 860, 861 - Eastlink * Internet service providers: **
Cable Internet access In telecommunications, cable Internet access, shortened to cable Internet, is a form of broadband Internet access which uses the same infrastructure as a cable television. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable In ...
- Eastlink **
Fiber-optic Internet Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of infrared light through an optical fiber. The light is a form of carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Fiber is pref ...
-
Bell Aliant Bell Aliant is a brand name used by Bell Canada for telecommunications services in Atlantic Canada. Prior to 2015, Bell Aliant Inc. (formerly Aliant Inc.) was a separate company providing telecom services in the Atlantic provinces and a few othe ...
**
DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...
- Aliant


Further reading

* Nancy Redmayne Ross, ed,. ''Diary of a Maritimer 1816-1901: The Life and times of Joseph Salter'', St. John's: International Maritime Economic History Association, 1996. This work includes a description of the diarist's affiliation with the Rockland Gold Mining Company (1863-1870).


References


External links


Village of Waverley Official Site

Charles P. Allen High School

Explore HRMNews For District 2 Of The HRM
{{Authority control Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia Designated places in Nova Scotia Mining communities in Nova Scotia