Mabou (; ) is an unincorporated settlement in the
Municipality of the County of Inverness
The Municipality of the County of Inverness is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to about 17,000 residents of the historical county of the same name, except for the incorporated town ...
on the west coast of
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
,
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. The population in 2011 was 1,207 residents. It is the site of
The Red Shoe pub
Beinn Mhàbu the
An Drochaid Museum, and
Glenora Distillers.
History
The name Mabou is thought to derive from
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 ...
name ''Malabo'', shortened from ''Malabokek'', meaning "place where two rivers meet" (the Mabou and Southwest Mabou rivers). It is also thought to mean "Shining Waters" or "Sparkling Waters". In
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...
it is called An Drochaid, meaning "The Bridge".
In 1841, the first resident
Roman Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...
, ''Maighstir Alasdair Mòr'' (Fr. Alexander MacDonald, 1801-1865) was assigned to Mabou, where he was seen as, "a veritable chieftain and patron of poets." Fr. MacDonald was also a very near kinsman to many local Gaelic-speaking pioneers, as he was 8th in descent from Iain Dubh MacDhòmhnaill, the 1st
Tacksman
A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society.
Tenant and landlord
Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for th ...
of
Bohuntine for
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan MacDonell of Keppoch or Clan Ranald of Lochaber ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The progenitor of the clan is Alistair Carrach MacDonald, 4th great-grandson of the war ...
.
In 1846, a series of bad harvests caused by the
same blight as the
Great Irish and
Highland potato famine
The Highland Potato Famine () was a period of 19th-century Scottish Highland history (1846 to roughly 1856) over which the agricultural communities of the Hebrides and the western Scottish Highlands () saw their potato crop (upon which they ha ...
s caused an exodus of Gaels from Mabou to
Antigonish County
Antigonish County is a historical county and Census divisions of Canada, census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Antigonish, and b ...
().
According to Marcus Tanner, "The Catholic clergy in rural west Cape Breton
lsoincluded notorious enemies of
the fiddle, such as Father Kenneth MacDonald, who conducted a local war with the music-makers in the 1860s and the 1870s. His campaign met with little success, however, and Cape Breton never saw the ceremonial burning of fiddles and bagpipes, as happened in
Skye
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...
under the instigation of the famous blind catechist Donald Munro."
During the last quarter of the 19th century, according to historian Fr. Vincent Yzermans, the town of
Holdingford, Minnesota
Holdingford is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon", the fictional central Minnesota town created by author Garrison Keillor.
Holdingfor ...
was founded by Catholic
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...
-speaking immigrants from Sight Point near Mabou. For this reason, Holdingford was originally called, "The Scotch Settlement", but now proudly describes itself as, "The Gateway to
Lake Wobegon
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town created by Garrison Keillor as the setting of the recurring segment "News from Lake Wobegon" for the radio program ''A Prairie Home Companion'' broadcast from Saint Paul, Minnesota. The fictional town serves as th ...
", after the fictional Central Minnesota town created by novelist and former
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
host
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...
.
During the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century Mabou's primary economic activity centered around a
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
with several collieries located in the surrounding area. The
Inverness and Richmond Railway
The Inverness and Richmond Railway was a railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from 1901 to the 1980s. It is now a rail trail for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and human-powered transport called the Celtic Shores Coastal ...
opened in 1901 to connect the mines in Mabou and
Inverness
Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
to wharves in Mabou and
Port Hastings.
Mining activity ceased following
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 ...
and the railway was abandoned during the late 1980s and is now a
snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow.
Their engines normally ...
and
ATV trail.
Today Mabou is primarily a
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, ...
port for a small fleet of
lobster
Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...
boats. It also hosts a high school serving central Inverness County.
In 2021, Mabou became important to the ongoing
language revival
Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community group ...
efforts for
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...
when () () (fig. Mabou Schoolhouse) opened there as the first
Gaelic-medium primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.
Geography
The community is located at the head of an inlet off the
Gulf of St. Lawrence named "Mabou Harbour" and is surrounded by low mountains which are part of the Creignish Hills.
Climate
Famous residents
*
Robert Frank
Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss American photographer and documentary filmmaker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his ...
, world renowned filmmaker and street photographer.
*
Kate Beaton
Kathryn Moira Beaton (born 8 September 1983) is a Canadian comics artist best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Hark! A Vagrant'', which ran from 2007 to 2018. Her other major works include the children's books ''The Princess and the Pon ...
(born 1983), cartoonist and creator of the webcomic ''
Hark! A Vagrant
''Hark! A Vagrant'' is a webcomic published by Canadian artist Kate Beaton between 2007 and 2018. It discussed historical and literary topics in a comedic tone and was drawn in black and white.
Recurring themes
''Hark! A Vagrant'' is best kn ...
'' and ''
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands''
*
Allan The Ridge MacDonald (1794-1868) local pioneer,
Seanchaidh, and poet. Highly important figure in both
Scottish Gaelic literature
Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literary works composed in the Scottish Gaelic language, which is, like Irish and Manx, a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Gaelic literature was also composed in Gàidhealtachd communities ...
and in that of
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...
.
*
Morgan Murray, author of ''Dirty Birds'' (2018).
*
The Rankin Family
The Rankin Family (also known as The Rankins) are a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four Society of Composers, Authors, an ...
, professional performers of Cape Breton-style
Scottish traditional music
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
.
* Molly Rankin, lead singer and lyricist of indie pop group
Alvvays
Alvvays (pronounced "always") is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and subsequently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (keybo ...
(and daughter of Rankin Family band member John Morris Rankin).
* John Allan Cameron, was a Canadian folk singer, "The Godfather of Celtic Music" in Canada.
Noted for performing traditional music on his twelve string guitar.
References
External links
Community websiteCeltic Shores Coastal Trail snowmobile and ATV trail
{{Authority control
Canadian Gaelic
Communities in Inverness County, Nova Scotia
Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia
Populated places in the Municipality of the County of Inverness, Nova Scotia
Scottish Gaelic education