Canso is an
unincorporated community and former
incorporated town in
Guysborough County,
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 ...
, Canada. Canso lies on the far north eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia at the mouth of
Chedabucto Bay. It was incorporated as a town in 1901. In January 2012, it ceased to be a separate town, and was amalgamated into 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 ...
in July 2012. The area was first settled as a fishing settlement in the 1600's. The construction of a British fort in the village in 1720 was instrumental in contributing to the outbreak of
Dummer's War
Dummer's War (1722–1725) (also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War) was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the Wab ...
in 1722. The town is of national historic importance because it was one of only two British settlements in Nova Scotia prior to the establishment of Halifax (1749). Canso played a key role in the defeat of
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg () is a tourist attraction as a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century Kingdom of France, French fortress at Louisbourg, Nov ...
. Today, the town attracts people internationally for the annual
Stan Rogers Folk Festival.
Geography
The community is located on the southern shore of
Chedabucto Bay. The southern limit of the bay is at
Cape Canso, a headland approximately southeast of the community.
Canso is the southeastern terminus of
Trunk 16, an important secondary highway in
Antigonish and
Guysborough counties.
As the community is situated on the end of a peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, Canso frequently experiences
fog, particularly during the warmer summer months when continental air temperatures collide with cooler ocean temperatures offshore.
Canso Islands
Canso Harbour is protected by the Canso Islands, a small
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
lying immediately north and east of the mainland, with Durells Island (named after
Philip Durell), Piscataqui Island, George Island, and Grassy Island being the largest.
The islands were designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
in 1925 due to their role as an important fishing base for French in the 16th century and the British during the 18th century, and as the staging point for the
1745 expedition against
Louisbourg
Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia.
History
The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...
. "
Grassy Island Fort", the remains of early 18th-century British fortifications (a 1720 redoubt, 1723–24 fort, and a 1745 blockhouse) on Grassy Island, was also individually designated as a National Historic Site in 1962.
History
The
Mi'kmaq
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 ...
are known to have had seasonal camps in the area, with archeological finds dating to 400AD.
Since the 16th century, Canso has been a strategically important fishery base. It is said that the harbour of Canso was frequented by European fur traders and fishermen within a dozen years of the arrival of Columbus in America, and an attempt at settlement was made here as early as 1518.
The area was used as a fishing settlement by the French fishery based at present-day
Guysborough intermittently from 1632-1718.
The ''Squirrel'' Affair
Shortly after
Cyprian Southack established himself at
Shelburne, Nova Scotia in 1715, the Mi'kmaq raided the station and burned it to the ground.
[Geoffery Plank. An Unsettled Conquest. University of Pennsylvania. 2001. pp. 76–77.] In response, on September 17–24, 1718, Southack led a raid on Canso and Chedabucto (present-day community of
Guysborough) in what became known as the ''Squirrel'' Affair. Leading , Southack first destroyed the French fishery at Canso before laying siege to
Fort St. Louis at Chedabucto, defended primarily by Acadians led by Bernard Lasonde. Fort St. Louis fell and the nearby village was destroyed.
The following day, September 24, Southack released his Acadian prisoners onto the Canso Islands without any provisions or clothing. Others fled to Isle Madame and
Petit-de-Grat, Nova Scotia. He seized two French ships, and encouraged Governor of Nova Scotia
Richard Philipps to fortify Canso.
The English began establishing a presence at Canso, replacing the French.
Raid on Canso (1720)
On August 7, 1720, 60–75 Mi'kmaq joined French fishermen from Petit de Grat, and attacked the
fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
as it was being built. The Mi'kmaq killed three men, wounded four more and caused significant damage. The New Englanders took 21 prisoners which they transported to Annapolis Royal. The raid on Canso was significant because of the involvement of the Mi'kmaq and was a chief factor leading up to Father Rale's War.
In the Fall of 1720, the New Englanders finished building Fort William Augustus (also known as Fort Phillips after Richard Philipps, the then Governor of Nova Scotia). Construction of such a permanent facility was a violation of long-standing agreements between the Mi'kmaq and the fishermen, and also helped to precipitate Father Rale's War.
In 1721, the governor of Massachusetts took a proprietary attitude toward the Canso fisheries, and sent
HMS ''Seahorse'' to patrol the waters off Nova Scotia. With the arrival of British colonial troops to the region, the Mi'kmaq were discouraged from attacking until the following year.
[George Rawlyk. Cod, Louisbourg. and the Acadians. ''The Atlantic Region to Confederation: A History''. p.114] HMS ''Seahorse'' was replaced in 1721 by the first naval ship of Nova Scotia, ''William Augustus'', under the command of
Cyprian Southack.
Father Rale's War
Raid on Canso (1722)
In the lead up to Father Rale's War, in July 1722, the Mi'kmaq and some Abenakis began a major offensive against New England fishermen and traders in an attempt to blockade the Nova Scotia capital of
Annapolis Royal. Natives captured eighteen trading vessels in the Bay of Fundy and an additional eighteen New England fishing schooners between Cape Sable and Canso.
As a result, the New England Governor declared war on the Mi'kmaq which lasted three years.
The ship William Augustus led ships from Canso to protect the fisheries, which resulted in the battle at
Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia. Only five native bodies were recovered from the battle and the New Englanders decapitated the corpses and set the severed heads on pikes surrounding Canso's new fort.
Raid on Canso (1723)
On July 23, 1723, the village was raided again by the Mi'kmaq and they killed three men, a woman and a child. In this same year, the New Englanders built a twelve-gun blockhouse to guard the village and fishery.
Raid on Canso (1725)
In 1725, sixty Abenakis and Mi'kmaq launch another attack on Canso, destroying two houses and killing six people.
King George's War
Raid on Canso (1744)
At the outbreak of
King George's War
King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...
, the French destroyed the flourishing fishing village during the
Raid on Canso (1744).
Siege of Louisbourg
A year later, the village Canso was used as a staging area for the 1745 siege of Louisbourg. The British built a blockhouse, which they named
Fort Prince William (Nova Scotia). General
Sir William Pepperell arrived at Canso, Nova Scotia, with four thousand and seventy troops, April 4, 1745, and, in three weeks was joined by Commodore Warren, with four ships from England.
Father Le Loutre's War
Raid on Canso (1749)
During
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Kingdo ...
, in August 1749, Lieutenant
Joseph Gorham was at Canso and his party was attacked by Mi'kmaq. They seized his vessel and took twenty prisoners and carried them off to Louisbourg. Three English and seven Mi'kmaq were killed. After
Governor Edward Cornwallis complained to the Governor of
Ile Royale, the prisoners were released.
Raid on Canso (1752)
Another raid happened August 4, 1752.
Attack at Canso (1753)
On February 21, 1753, 9 Mi'kmaq in canoes attacked an English vessel which had a crew of four at near-by
Country Harbour, Nova Scotia
Country Harbour (formerly named Mocodome) is a rural community in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community is situated on a large deep natural harbour of the same name and is located along the provi ...
. The Mi'kmaq killed two English men and took two others captive for six weeks. After seven weeks in captivity, on April 8, the two English men killed six Mi'kmaq and managed to escape. In response, on the night of April 21 the Mi'kmaq attacked another English schooner in a naval battle between Outique Island and Isle Madame in which the Mi'kmaq attacked an English schooner. There were nine English men and one Acadian who was the pilot. The Mi'kmaq killed the English and let the Acadian off at Port Toulouse, where the Mi'kmaq sank the schooner after looting it.
French and Indian War
Expulsion of the Acadians
During the
Expulsion of the Acadians
The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of the North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain. It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Br ...
the famous ship the
Duke William was in port for almost a month awaiting passage to France (1758). While in port the vessel narrowly escaped a raid by Mi'kmaq.
American Revolution
Raid on Canso (1775)
During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, Canso was subject to numerous raids by American
privateer
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
s.
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
's
Marblehead Regiment raided Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on November 17, 1775 and three days later, they raided Canso Harbour.
Raid on Canso (1776)
On September 22, 1776, Canso was attacked by American privateer
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...
. The privateer sailed on and destroyed fifteen vessels, and damaged much property on shore. There he recruited men to fill the vacancies created by manning his prizes, burned a British fishing schooner, sank a second, and captured a third besides a shallop which he used as a tender. Jones then sacked the settlements of Petit-de-Grat and
Arichat, Nova Scotia on
Isle Madame, Nova Scotia and then returned to Boston.
On November 22, John Paul Jones returned to Canso in . Boats from the ship raided the community, his crews burned a transport bound for Canada with provisions and a warehouse full of whale oil, besides capturing a small schooner. Captain Jones then went on to present-day
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...
to free Americans imprisoned in local coal mines.
Raid on Canso (1779)
Again in 1779, American privateers destroyed the Canso fisheries, worth $50,000 a year to England.
In February 1780, the schooner Freemason struck a rock near Canso and sunk. They landed near Whitehead and 16 of the 19 perished in the woods because of the winter weather. The three survivors got to Canso on March 9, having survived by eating their fellow crew members.
Wilmot Town Plot
In July, 1764, a town plot was laid out at the site of the present town and named "Wilmot," in honor of Col. Montague Wilmot. Little development occurred and the area was repeatedly raided during the American Revolutionary War, as described above. By January, 1813, there were only six families in residence. The Wilmot town plot remained nearly empty until 1821 when a few houses and stores began to be erected within it. By 1844 there were 250 families resident in the area. The town became known as Canso by the mid 19th century, with the old name Wilmot falling out of use.
Town of Canso
A large storm in 1873 did significant damage to the community. Between 1881 and 1894 several transatlantic cables were landed here and Canso became one of the main communications links between North America and Europe. Canso was incorporated as a town in May of 1901.
Recent History
In a
plebiscite
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...
held on July 12, 2008, residents narrowly voted to amalgamate the town with the neighbouring Municipality of the District of Guysborough. The decision to amalgamate was put off, and after review was rejected again in March 2023On January 19, 2012, the
Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board granted the town's application to dissolve. On July 1, 2012, Canso became part of
The Municipality of the District of Guysborough.
In early 2017,
Maritime Launch Services
Maritime Launch Services (MLS) is a Canadian space transport services company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Nova Scotia, Canada. MLS will rely on Ukrainian Cyclone-4M rockets by KB Pivdenne, Pivdenne Design Office to launch polar and Sun-s ...
announced it intended to lease land near Canso to build and operate Canada's only active commercial spaceport, using the
Ukrainian Cyclone-4M
The Cyclone-4M is a Ukrainian carrier rocket which is being developed for commercial satellite launches.
History
The Cyclone-4M is derived from the Tsyklon-4, which started its life as an all-hypergolic three-stage-to-orbit expendable launch ...
rocket. Construction is slated to begin in late 2021 and is expected to take three or four years. The first suborbital flight from Canso will be conducted via a
small-lift launch vehicle
A small-lift launch vehicle is a rocket orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting or less (by NASA classification) or under (by Roscosmos classification) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). The next larger category is medium-lift l ...
in 2023, while the Cyclone-4M is expected to make its first orbital flight from the facility in 2025.
Annual events
Canso is host to the
Stan Rogers Folk Festival, an annual event held around the Canada Day weekend. This event attracts over 10,000 visitors, who enjoy music from all over the world on seven different stages over the 3 days.
Each year, during the second week of August, a regatta is held within the town. This week-long event includes boat races, a mid-way, parade, seaman's memorial, hootenannies as well as various activities for the youth. The regatta draws many previous generations of the town to serve the purpose of a Come Home week. Each year, the regatta has a theme which is reflected in the parade, with 2009's being The Circus Comes to Town.
Transportation
Nova Scotia Trunk 16, a secondary highway important to the counties of Antigonish and Guysborough, terminates in Canso, its easternmost point.
Distance chart
Notable residents
*
Joseph Goreham
Joseph Gorham (sometimes recorded as Goreham, 1725–1790) was an American colonial military officer during King George's War and later a United Kingdom, British army commander during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. ...
(1725–1790) British military officer stationed at Canso during Father Le Loutre's War
*
William Clapham (1722–1763) British military officer stationed at Canso during Father Le Loutre's War
*
Carlyle Smith Beals (1899–1979), astronomer.
* Hannah Norris, early feminist
*
Howard Amos Rice (born 1872), one-time mayor
*
Jimmy Tompkins (1870–1953), founder of the
Antigonish Movement
*
Richard Murphy – (1838–1916) schooner captain, born in Canso or nearby, sailed out of
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of North Shore (Massachusetts), Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. ...
.
*
Garnet Rogers
Garnet Rogers (born May 1955) is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario with Maritime roots.
Early life
Rogers was born in Hamilton, Ontario to Nathan Allison Rogers and Valerie (née Bushell) ...
– folk singer, writer.
See also
*
Consolidated PBY Catalina
The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA- ...
, an aircraft designated as "Canso" in Canadian service.
References
Sources
Harriet Hart. History of Canso. Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society* Judith Tulloch. "The New England Fisheries and the Trade at Canso: 1720–1744". ''How deep is the ocean?: historical essays on Canada's Atlantic fishery'' James E. Candow, Carol Corbin (eds)
*
*
*John Mack Faragher, ''A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from their American Homeland'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005).
*Haynes, Mark. The Forgotten Battle: A History of the Acadians of Canso/ Chedabuctou. British Columbia: Trafford. 2004
*John Reid, Maurice Basque, Elizabeth Mancke, Barry Moody, Geoffrey Plank, and William Wicken. 2004.'' The 'Conquest' of Acadia, 1710: Imperial, Colonial, an Aboriginal Constructions.'' University of Toronto Press.
*Robison, Mark Power. Maritime Frontiers: The Evolution of Empire in Nova Scotia, 1713–1758. Unpublished Doctorate Thesis. Department of History. University of Colorado. 2000
*Geoffrey Plank, An Unsettled Conquest. University of Pennsylvania. 2001
* Whitehead. The Oldman Told Us.
External links
Canso – Heritage Association
Stanfest Folk Music FestivalHistory of Canso, Nova Scotia Historical SocietyJohn Paul JonesRaids Arichat.pdf
{{Authority control
Communities in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia
Former towns in Nova Scotia
Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia
Conflicts in Nova Scotia
1604 establishments in the French colonial empire
1720 establishments in the British Empire
Populated places disestablished in 2012
Rocket launch sites in Canada