Berwick is a Canadian town in
Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to:
Places Canada
*Kings County, New Brunswick
*Kings County, Nova Scotia
* Kings County, Prince Edward Island
** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892
Ireland
* County Offaly, formerly call ...
,
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 ...
. The town is located in the eastern part of the
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a Trough (geology), trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the B ...
on the
Cornwallis River
The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower p ...
. The town site stretches south from the river and Exit 15 of
Highway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drum ...
to
Highway 1. Berwick occupies 6.53 km
2 (2.6 sq mi) and has an elevation of 43 m (141 ft) above sea level.
History
As the headwaters of the
Cornwallis River
The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower p ...
, Berwick was used by Nova Scotia's
Mi'kmaq people
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
and later
Acadians
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
as a crossing place between the Cornwallis and the
Annapolis River
The Annapolis River () is a Canadian river located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.
Geography
Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Caribou Bog (50 m 60 ft...
which rises to the west. Acadians built a rough road between the two rivers just to the south of the town, a route which after British settlement became
The Post Road or Highway No. 1 the main road connecting western communities in Nova Scotia.
The Berwick area was granted to several
New England Planter families in 1760 but the community was not settled until 1810 when Benjamin Congdon built on the townsite. It was known progressively as the "Congdon Settlement", "Curry's Corner", and "Davison's Corner" after various prominent families and storekeepers. Residents decided in 1851 to name it Berwick after the English town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
.
A
peat moss
''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...
bog just west of the village was named Caribou Bog and provided one of the last stands for
Woodland caribou Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations:
* Boreal woodland caribou
* Migratory woodland caribou
See also
* Woodland Caribou Provincial Park
Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a provincia ...
in mainland Nova Scotia, before their extirpation by 1905. As late as 1887, a herd of caribou was seen crossing through the centre of the town.
Berwick became a station on the
Windsor and Annapolis Railway
The Windsor and Annapolis Railway (W&AR) was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.
The railway ran from Windsor, Nova Scotia, Windsor to Annapolis Royal and leased connections to Nova Scotia's capital of Ci ...
in 1869. The railway radically transformed the town, moving the centre of business a mile south away from the original Main Street by the
Cornwallis River
The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower p ...
with the town centre organized along Commercial Street which led to the businesses which grew around the tracks. The railway, which became known as the
Dominion Atlantic Railway
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR) was unusually divers ...
in 1894, created a large export market for apples which attracted warehouses and spin-off industries to Berwick. Berwick had rail service until the Dominion Atlantic Railway abandoned the former W&AR main line through town in March 1990.
Berwick was incorporated as a town on May 25, 1923. It built its own hydro electric power dam in 1921 which is still owned and operated by the town. Its capacity is 520
kVa.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Berwick had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Economy
Berwick's official slogan is the "Apple Capital of Nova Scotia", honouring the importance of the
apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
industry as a major economic force in developing the town. Following the collapse of the traditional European market for apples during and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, area farmers began diversifying their operations throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the decline of the apple industry since the 1950s, there are still some apple orchards to be found in the surrounding agricultural districts. A large apple sculpture is found in the centre of town to commemorate the importance of this historic industry.
Until recently a number of regionally successful small manufacturers related to agriculture prospered in Berwick, including the M.W. Graves food processing plant, the Berwick Fruit Co-op, Graham's Meat Market, Berwick Bakery and Larsen's Meats. However centralization of Canada's food industry led each firm to be bought out and eventually closed by the late 1990s. Losses included the Avon Foods (the former Graves Plant) which closed in March 2005 and the Larsen's pork processing plant, which closed in April 2011. Other employers include the Easson's trucking firm, the
Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
tire plant in nearby
Waterville and the military base at
CFB Greenwood
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the ...
. The town functions as a service centre for adjacent areas of Kings County with a number of small retailers. The town has an independent electrical utility which generates 10–15 per cent of its own needs from a hydro generator in
Factorydale, purchasing the balance from
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 ...
. In 2015, the Berwick Electric Utility combined with electrical utilities in
Mahone Bay
Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands (potentially 365), and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the M ...
and
Antigonish
Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Hal ...
to build four-turbine wind farm in
Ellershouse, Nova Scotia. The new wind farm known as the Alternative Energy Resource Authority supplies 20% of Berwick's electricity.
Buildings and structures
Berwick's late 19th and early 20th century prosperity driven by the apple industry left the town with many fine homes and classic wooden Victorian storefronts. However most of the historic commercial buildings on Berwick's main thoroughfare of Commercial Street were demolished in the 1980s and 1990s by commercial expansion of Berwick businesses seeking to compete with such retail centres as
New Minas
New Minas is a Canadian village located in the eastern part of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the population was 4,662.
Geography
New Minas borders the town of Kentville to the west and the ...
by building large parking lots. Berwick's town centre resembles a typical North American retail strip with low
strip malls
A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have l ...
and expanses of asphalt.
The town still retains many fine Victorian and Edwardian houses on tree-lined streets. However some of these homes now face demolition. The Bethune House, an
Arts and Crafts
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
style home of a noted early 20th century regional photographer was demolished in 2008 to create a parking lot. In 2009 two of Berwick's most historic homes, the Patterson and Keith houses, were proposed for demolition to provide a driveway for a duplex housing development. The proposed demolitions led to a protest by citizens concerned about the economic and cultural loss of attractive heritage properties and the lack of any heritage planning in Berwick, which is one of the only municipalities in Nova Scotia which lacks a policy to develop or preserve heritage buildings. Both buildings have since been demolished.
A large new fire hall was constructed in 2008 for the Berwick Volunteer Fire Department. In 2009, construction plans were announced for a large new arena, recreation and community centre nicknamed "The Apple Dome". The building has been officially named the "Kings Mutual Century Centre". The arena includes a 200-metre running track, the Berwick Fitness Centre, and an ice rink that are partially lit with natural light. The Berwick Curling Club has since been added to the KMCC in 2018.
Literary connections
Margaret Marshall Saunders, author of the 1894 children's book, ''
Beautiful Joe
''Beautiful Joe'' is an 1893 novel by Margaret Marshall Saunders which contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty. The story is based on a dog of the same name from the town of Meaford, Ontario.
The real Beautiful Joe
The real Bea ...
'' spent most of her childhood in Berwick where her father served as Baptist minister. Christy Ann Conlin, author of the 2002 novel ''Heave'' grew up just outside Berwick and critics have noted that the fictional town of "Foster" in her book was inspired by Berwick.
Present day
Berwick operates a museum (the
Apple Capital Museum) and a seasonal tourism bureau. A branch of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library, with public Internet access, is located in the town hall. Berwick has been home since the 1860s to a
summer religious retreat operated by the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada.
The United Chu ...
known as Berwick Camp, located in a picturesque grove of old-growth pines and hemlock trees at the south end of the town.
A
homeless
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
man named Harley Lawrence was found dead in a burned-out bus shelter in Berwick in October 2013. Two Berwick men were charged with his murder in April 2014 and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in February 2015.
Notable residents
*
Edward D. MacArthur (1920–1986), politician and doctor.
*
Margaret Marshall Saunders – international best-selling author
See also
*
List of municipalities in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is the Population of Canada by province and territory, seventh-most populous provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada with 969,383 residents as of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census of Population, and the List of Can ...
References
* Ronald E. Illsley ''Berwick'' (Illsley Family Kentville: 2008)
External links
Town of Berwick
{{Coord, 45.047549, N, 64.735950, W, name=Berwick, display=title, region:CA-NS_scale:10000_type:city
Communities in Kings County, Nova Scotia
Towns in Nova Scotia
Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia