Port Shoreham 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 ...

, in 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 ...

Guysborough County Guysborough County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The area was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq, and was colonized by France in the 17th century. Following the defeat of France in North America, the area w ...

. It is notable for its provincial park and fishing on Macpherson Lake.

Geography

Port Shoreham lies along Route 344 on the northern shore of

Chedabucto Bay Chedabucto Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of mainland Nova Scotia between the Atlantic Ocean and the Strait of Canso next to Guysborough County. At the entrance to Chedabucto Bay is the community of Canso at the head is the communi ...

. Port Shoreham is bounded by the Clam Harbour River on the west, and Clam Harbour Bay to the south.

MacPherson Lake

Aside from Clam Harbour Bay, a dominant geographical feature of the area is MacPherson Lake. The shore of the lake has a significant number of seasonal residences and cottages. The lake is stocked with fish for recreational fishing, and a yearly fishing derby is held.

History

Port Shoreham was first inhabited by the indigenous

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 ...

. The Mi'kmaq name for the area was E'se'katik, meaning "at the place of the clams", referencing the abundant clams in Clam Pond. In October 1765, Port Shoreham was part of the 20,000 acres granted to Benjamin Hallowell of Boston for settlement. No significant progress on surveying or settling these lands were made until it passed to his two sons, Benjamin Hallowell Jr., and

Ward Nicholas Boylston Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828; born Ward Hallowell), a descendant of the physician Zabdiel Boylston, was an American merchant, a philanthropist, and benefactor of Harvard University. Biography Boylston was born in Boston, Province of ...

. Surveying was completed in 1786, with the Port Shoreham area divided up into 150 acre lots. Settlers were primarily

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, but early settlers also came directly from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Port Shoreham was a part of the broader Manchester Township, and was at this time and throughout the 19th century known as "Clam Harbour". In 1901, the name was changed through a provincial act to "Port Shoreham". The people of Port Shoreham relied on a mix of subsistence farming and fishing up until the mid 20th century. The road running through the community was known as the "Mulgrave Road" as it went from Boylston to Mulgrave. This road was paved and turned into Route 344 in the late 1960s. Port Shoreham, its people, and their lifestyle was the inspiration for Charles Tory Bruce's poetry collection ''The Mulgrave Road'' (1951) his novel ''The Channel Shore'' (1954) and his short story collection ''The Township of Time'' (1959). The population was 193 in the 1911 census, 132 in the 1921 census, and 76 in 1954.

Attractions

Port Shoreham Beach Provincial Park

Notable Residents

* Robert Kirk Tory (1838-1892) Methodist minister and farmer, progenitor of the

Tory family The Tory family is a prominent family of lawyers and politicians in Canada, some members of which are associated with the Toronto law firm Torys. The family traces its roots back to Nova Scotia and James Tory (1753–1834), who migrated there from A ...

. * Henry Marshal Tory (1862-1944) Founder of several Canadian universities, and the National Research Council *

James Cranswick Tory James Cranswick Tory (October 24, 1862 – June 26, 1944) was a Nova Scotia businessman and politician. He was born in 1862 to Robert Kirk Tory and Anorah Ferguson in Guysborough County and lived in the village of Guysborough. He attended Mc ...

(1864-1947)

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia () is the representative in Nova Scotia of the monarch, who Monarchy in Nova Scotia, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of ...

and

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

for Guysborough * John Alexander Tory Sr (1869-1950) Head of Ontario operations for the Sun Life Insurance Company, father of

John Stewart Donald Tory John Stewart Donald Tory (1903 – August 28, 1965) was a Canadian lawyer and founder of the law firm Torys, based in Toronto, Ontario. Early life Tory was born in Toronto to John Alexander Tory Sr. (1869–1950) and Abigail Georgina Bu ...

. * Charles Tory Bruce (1906–1971) Canadian poet, journalist, and writer * Harry Bruce (1934–2024) Canadian journalist and writer

References

External links

* {{coord, 45, 25, 25.52, N, 61, 25, 14.82, W, name=Port Shoreham, Nova Scotia, display=title, region:CA-NS_scale:100000 Communities in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia