Orangedale is a Canadian

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

community located in Inverness 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 ...

. Originally called "Mull Cove" in honour of the earliest settlers from the Isle of Mull, it was renamed about 1890 to commemorate Orangemen who settled in the vicinity of the Denys Basin 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 ...

Bras d'Or Lake Bras d'Or Lake (Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmawi'simk: Pitupaq) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, ma ...

, Orange Dale was a small farming and fishing community until 1886 when the

Intercolonial Railway of Canada The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

mainline from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to Point Tupper was constructed. Orangedale became host to a Victorian-period 2-storey wooden railway passenger station, and it became the preferred stop for many passengers heading to and from central and northern Cape Breton Island. The community developed into a small railway service centre, with the majority of its residents being employed by the railway. The ICR was absorbed into the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

in 1918, and in 1993 CN sold the line to Sydney to the

Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a short line railway that operates in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. CBNS operates of main line and associated spurs between Truro in the central part of the province to Point Tupper ...

. Passenger rail service had already stopped following the January 15, 1990 budget cuts by

Via Rail Canada Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

. In 1986, a group of community volunteers formed to save the original ICR station from being demolished. Today it is part of an extensive

railway museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic ...

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 ...

's song "

Orangedale Whistle "Orangedale Whistle" is a song recorded by Canadian music group The Rankin Family. It was released in 1992 as the first single from their second studio album, '' Fare Thee Well Love''. It peaked in the top 10 on the ''RPM Revolutions per minu ...

" pays homage to the community's role in Cape Breton Island's transportation history. The Museum site has been featured on film through such programs as Maritime Museums(Eastlink), Haunted(Eastlink), and Heather Rankin's My Cape Breton(Bell Fibre). In 2021, the

L'Arche L'Arche ("The Ark") is an international federation of non-profit organisations working to create networks of community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. Founded in 1964 by Jean Vanier, Raphaël Si ...

community donated the

Boston Christmas Tree The Boston Christmas Tree is the City of Boston, Massachusetts' official Christmas tree. A tree has been lit each year since 1941, and since 1971 it has been given to the people of Boston by the people of Nova Scotia in thanks for their assistan ...

References

External links

Orangedale Railway Museum - Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society website
{{coord, 45, 54, 06, N, 61, 05, 42, W, region:CA_type:city, display=title Communities in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia