Londonderry (formerly Acadia Mines) is an unincorporated 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 Colchester County. A bustling

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

making town of some 5,000 in the late 19th century, the population today stands at around 200. The CN main line runs through Londonderry Station, about two kilometers east of the village of Londonderry.

History

Londonderry saw the pouring of some of the first steel made in Canada, and the first Canadian installation of the

Bessemer process The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities and undesired eleme ...

for making steel. Mining began in 1849 and eventually three mines - East Mines, Old Mountain Mine, and West Mines - were operated. Over 2 million tons of ore were produced. The iron ore seams that encouraged development, originally thought to be enormous, proved to be small, shallow, and very expensive to mine. That, coupled with poor management decisions and failed experiments with rotary type ovens as well as low world steel prices, spelled the demise of the iron and steel industry in Londonderry. The fatal blow to the community came with a destructive fire in 1920 which destroyed a large portion of the town. The mine operations were foreclosed in 1924 and the town never recovered thereafter. The once vast ruins of the former steel mill were torn down and sold as scrap during the scrap metal drives of

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 ...

Settlement

The Township of Londonderry, including the Port of Londonderry (now Great Village), was first settled by two groups of Scots Irish emigrants. The first group came from the town of

Londonderry, New Hampshire Londonderry is a town in western Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. It sits between Manchester and Derry, the largest and fourth-largest communities in the state. The population was 25,826 at the 2020 census. Londonderry is known f ...

in 1761 whilst a larger contingent who had arrived in Halifax in October 1761 on the ship ''Hopewell'' out of Londonderry in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, settled a few years later once land grants were secured. Both arrangements made by former British army Captain Alexander McNutt, who was formerly stationed at nearby Fort Cumberland and was originally from

Early settlers

Those who settled Londonderry Township included the following individuals: * Barnhill, John; of Donegal; resident of Londonderry/ Onslow * Clark, John; of Tamlaught Finleggan,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

* Cochran, Daniel; of Derrykeychen, Antrim * Crawford, Joseph; of Rathmelton, Donegal * Henderson, William; of Rathmullan, Donegal * Mahon, John; of Rosses, Donegal; resident of Londonderry * McClean, Anthony; of near

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

, Donegal; resident of Londonderry * McNutt, Benjamin Bar; of Killmacrene, Mauagh, Donegal * McNutt, John; of Tullyachnish, Derry * McNutt, William; of Mavagh, Donegal; resident of Onslow * Moore, William; of Fahan, Donegal * Morrison, John;of Ry Tollaghebegly Donegal; resident of Londonderry * Patton, Mark; of Fosghan Vael, Derry; resident of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

* Ross, Andrew; of Belreshain, Antrim * Smith, Robert; of Cahery, Drummacose, Derry * Spencer, Robert; of Clanda Horky, Donegal; resident of Londonderry

Notable residents

* Laurie Davidson Cox (1883–1968), leading American landscape architect. * Frank Parker Day, writer, taught school there * Robert McElhinney (ca 1747–1831), Irish-born political figure who represented Londonderry Township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly * Archibald McLelan (1824–1890), Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia * James Meissner (1896–1936), World War I flying, recipient of two Distinguished Service Crosses. * Thomas Fletcher Morrison (1808–1886), sailor, farmer and political figure in Nova Scotia * Doris Petrie (1918–2000), Canadian film and television actress

References

External links