Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Silvanus Cobb Monument, Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool's harbour was an ancient seasonal camp of Nova Scotia's native Mi'kmaq and was known as Ogomkigeak meaning "dry sandy place" and Ogukegeok, meaning "place of departure". Samuel de Champlain originally named the harbour Port Rossignol, in honour of Captain Rossignol, an early 17th-century founder of New France in North America who used the harbour for trading.^[1] Later Nicolas Denys, a pioneering 17th-century French explorer and trader of Nova Scotia, was granted land here by the leader of Acadia, Isaac de Razilly (c. 1632).^[2]

Following the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755) during the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War), Liverpool was founded by New England Planters (commercially organized settlers) as a fishing port in 1759, originally named Lingley after Admiral Charles Lingley, and then renamed after Liverpool in England – which also lies along its own Mersey River. Silvanus Cobb was an original proprietor of the town. In 1759 Capt. Cobb became a proprietor of the new township of Liverpool. Liverpool township was to run from Cape Sable Island to Port Medway and continuing 14 miles inland from the shore. Sylvanus transported many of the other original residents to the new settlement. On July 1, 1760, at the first meeting of the proprietors, Capt. Cobb made a petition to be granted a piece of land to build a house and a wharf. The land was granted and the house was built at the foot of present-day Wolfe Street. There is a park and monument to Cobb at the site of his original home which was built from materials he transported from New England.

American Revolution

Col Simeon Perkins

Liverpool's struggle for identity during the revolutionary war has been the subject of considerable study by historians.^[3] The town was at first sympathetic to the cause of the American Revolution, with outlying outports like Port Medway and Port Mouton almost continuously visited by American privateers,^[4] but after repeated attacks by American privateers on local shipping interests and one direct attack on the town itself, Liverpool citizens turned against the rebellion. The defence of the town and the outfitting of privateers was led by Colonel Simeon Perkins.

Raid on Liverpool (1778)

On April 24, 1778, in the Battle off Liverpool, Nova Scotia (1778), the Royal Navy warship HMS Blonde under the command of Captain Milligan ran aground the French ship Duc de Choiseul under the command of Captain Pattier in Liverpool Harbour. There was an exchange of cannon fire lasting over three hours. A number of the French crew were killed, drowned and wounded. The 100 remaining French crew were taken prisoner. The arms that were on the wrecked ship continued to attract American privateers over the following month. Consequently, on May 1, American privateers raided Liverpool, ravaging and pillaging a number of the houses and stores, including the store of Simeon Perkins, a significant town leader. Three weeks later, on May 21, the same privateers returned and tried to tow the wreck of the Duc de Choiseul out to sea. Perkins mustered ten men at the shore. Cannon fire was exchanged by the British militia and the American privateers. The privateers continued to fire at the town for almost an hour. Perkins marched his men along the shore, closer to the privateers. One of the militia was wounded in the ensuing exchanges. The privateers stayed off shore for a number of days. Perkins kept a sergeant and six men on guard duty twenty four hours a day until the privateers left the area.^[5]

After suffering three years of similar sporadic raids, the people of Liverpool, on June 2, 1779 built a battery for the artillery, rebuilt Fort Morris (Nova Scotia) and on October 31 launched their own privateer vessel named Lucy to bring battle to their adversaries.^[4] As well, Perkins wrote a successful appeal to the authorities in Halifax, and on December 13, 1778 Capt. John Howard's company of the King's Orange Rangers arrived aboard the transport Hannah. The company consisted of Howard, 2 lieutenants, 1 ensign, 3 sergeants, 2 or 3 corporals, 48 privates, and several camp followers, both women and children.^[6]

In March 1780, Colonel Perkins ordered the seizure of the Dolphin.^[7]

Raid on Liverpool (1780)

The most dramatic privateer raid occurred on September 13, 1780. Two American privateers, the Surprize under Cpt. Benjamin Cole, and the Delight, under Cpt. Lane, unloaded nearly 70 men at Ballast Cove shortly after midnight.^[8] By 4am they had captured the fort and taken Howard, two other officers, and all but six of the KOR garrison as prisoners.^[9] Perkins called out the militia, engineered the capture of Cole, and negotiated with Lane for the recovery of the fort and the release of the prisoners. Within a few hours "every thing [was] restored to its former Situation without any Blood Shed." Liverpool was not bothered by privateers for the remainder of the war.^[10]

The town grew following the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) with the arrival of American colonial refugees known as Loyalists.

War of 1812

During the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, Liverpool financed and manned many privateer vessels which primarily targeted French vessels in the West Indies and American shipping off the Nova Scotia and New England coasts. The port was notable for such privateer vessels as the brig Rover and the schooner Liverpool Packet, mariners such as Joseph Barss, and ships' chandlers and merchants such as Enos Collins and Simeon Perkins. Significantly, an exciting eye-witness account of this turbulent period can be found in the published diaries of Simeon Perkins (1735–1812), an important businessman and leader in early Liverpool, having arrived from Connecticut in 1762 with the early settlers, and remaining an active member of the town for 50 years until his death in 1812.

Nineteenth century

During the nineteenth century, the town became a major seaport as the fishing and ship building industries grew. The town also became a leading exporter of timber which was floated down the Mersey River (or as initially called the Rivière Rossignol by the original Acadians) from the inland forests of the Lake Rossignol watershed. For a time after the War of 1812, Liverpool was second only to Halifax as the major port in the province, but was later eclipsed by western ports on the north shore of the province such as Pictou and New Glasgow on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The mid-nineteenth century move toward steam-powered vessels which were built with steel, ruined the area's vibrant wooden-ship building industry, and the further financial dislocation caused by the collapse of the local Bank of Liverpool in 1871 combined to severely hurt the town's economy and it went into a slow decline.

Twentieth century

Liverpool's fortunes were temporarily revived in the 1920s when it became a centre for rum-runners shipping alcohol to the United States during its period of prohibition. More significant growth took place in 1929 when the Mersey Pulp and Paper Mill was completed in the adjoining village of Brooklyn. The paper company also founded its own shipping line, the Markland Shipping Company based in Liverpool. World War II bolstered the economy further as the town's shipyard, Thompson Bros. Machinery Co. Ltd. became a major player in refitting Royal Canadian Navy corvettes and minesweepers.

In 1996, Liverpool disincorporated as a town and merged with the Municipality of the County of Queens to form the Region of Queens Municipality. The Bowater Mersey Pulp and Paper plant closed in 2012.^[11]

Discover more about History related topics

Nicolas Denys

Nicolas Denys

Nicolas Denys was a French-born merchant, governor, author, and settler in New France. He founded settlements at St. Pierre, Ste. Anne and Nepisiquit.

Expulsion of the Acadians

Expulsion of the Acadians

The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians, was the forced removal, by the British, of inhabitants of parts of a Canadian-American region historically known as Acadia, between 1755–1764. The area included the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, and the present-day U.S. state of Maine. The Expulsion, which caused the deaths of thousands of people, occurred during the French and Indian War and was part of the British military campaign against New France.

French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on their native allies.

New England Planters

New England Planters

The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) of the Acadian Expulsion.

Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in North West England. With a population of 486,100 in 2021, it is located within the county of Merseyside and is the principal city of the wider Liverpool City Region. Its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million.

England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

River Mersey

River Mersey

The River Mersey is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Port Medway, Nova Scotia

Port Medway, Nova Scotia

Port Medway is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Region of Queens Municipality.

Port Mouton, Nova Scotia

Port Mouton, Nova Scotia

Port Mouton is a small village along Highway 103 on the southwest coast of Region of Queens Nova Scotia, Canada. It is about ten miles from Liverpool, the nearest significant community, and 160 kilometres from Halifax. The local residents pronounce the town's name 'Port Mah-TOON'.

Privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare 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 or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as a letter of marque, during wartime. The commission empowered the holder to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war. This included attacking foreign vessels and taking them as prizes, and taking prize crews as prisoners for exchange. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided by percentage between the privateer's sponsors, shipowners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission.

Battle off Liverpool, Nova Scotia (1778)

Battle off Liverpool, Nova Scotia (1778)

The Battle off Liverpool took place on 24 April 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved the British vessel HMS Blonde and the French 24-gun frigate Duc de Choiseul.

HMS Blonde (1760)

HMS Blonde (1760)

HMS Blonde was a 32-gun fifth-rate warship of the British Royal Navy captured from the French in 1760. The ship wrecked on Blonde Rock with American prisoners on board. An American privateer captain, Daniel Adams, rescued the American prisoners and let the British go free. The captain's decision created an international stir. Upon returning to Boston, the American privateer was banished for letting go the British crew and he and his family became Loyalist refugees in Nova Scotia.

Liverpool is situated on the Atlantic coast along Nova Scotia's South Shore. The community primarily occupies the west bank of the mouth of the Mersey River and along its harbour front faces opposite the smaller community of Brooklyn which is situated on the east bank of the River. Beyond Liverpool, the river widens to become an estuary called Liverpool Bay, which is partially sheltered by Coffin Island, and there melds into the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Stream which passes just to the east of Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean provides Liverpool with a year-round temperate northern climate.

Liverpool is located along Trunk Route 3 ("The Lighthouse Route") and at the junction of major Highway 103 (at Exit 19) and Trunk Route 8 ("The Kejimkujik Scenic Drive") which leads to the Bay of Fundy.

Climate

In spite of its seaside location beside the large Atlantic Ocean; Liverpool has a relatively mild humid continental climate typical of the province.^[12] Frequently prevailing inland winds ensure a lack of maritime moderation, resulting in large temperature differences between the warm summers averaging around 25 °C (77 °F) and the generally cold winter night time temperatures approaching −10 °C (14 °F) on average. Annual precipitation is quite high with frequent rain and snow storms in the fall, winter and spring. Summers are much drier, pleasant and warm. The highest temperature ever recorded in Liverpool was 36.7 °C (98 °F) on 22 August 1976.^[13] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −35.6 °C (−32 °F) on 18 February 1922.^[14]

Discover more about Geography related topics

Mersey River (Nova Scotia)

Mersey River (Nova Scotia)

The Mersey River, formerly known as Rivière Rossignol by the Acadians, is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is named after the River Mersey in Liverpool, England. The river proper flows from the eastern end of Eleven Mile Lake in Annapolis County southward to Kejimkujik Lake in Kejimkujik National Park, then through Lake Rossignol to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at the town of Liverpool, Nova Scotia. The true source of the river however is as far northwest as Sandy Bottom Lake or Tuskopeake Brook on the northern tributary.

Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia

Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia

Brooklyn is a suburban community in the Region of Queens Municipality in Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 km2 (41,100,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe, and Asia from the "New World" of the Americas in the European perception of the World.

Humid continental climate

Humid continental climate

A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is usually distributed throughout the year but often does have dry seasons. The definition of this climate regarding temperature is as follows: the mean temperature of the coldest month must be below 0 °C (32.0 °F) or −3 °C (26.6 °F) depending on the isotherm, and there must be at least four months whose mean temperatures are at or above 10 °C (50 °F). In addition, the location in question must not be semi-arid or arid. The cooler Dfb, Dwb, and Dsb subtypes are also known as hemiboreal climates.

Milton, Nova Scotia

Milton, Nova Scotia

Milton is a village located immediately north of Liverpool, Nova Scotia in the Region of Queens Nova Scotia. The village is most well known for being the birthplace of the international best selling author Margaret Marshall Saunders. Her most famous book was Beautiful Joe. In 1994, the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society was formed to celebrate the life and story of Beautiful Joe and the achievements of Margaret Marshall Saunders. The book is set in Meaford, Ontario, where the society has established a park dedicated to Beautiful Joe named Beautiful Joe Park.

Precipitation

Precipitation

In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and "precipitates" or falls. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but colloids, because the water vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated: cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air. Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers.

Liverpool post office

As the largest population centre in the fairhaven of Queens County, Liverpool has a diverse business community. Many large business franchises provide modern convenience, while the community's quaint small shops still thrive in the original business district on Main Street. Commercial and recreational fishing still play an important role in the local economy. Liverpool's largest employer was once the Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited, which operated a pulp mill and newsprint mill situated in nearby Brooklyn. The mill closed in June 2012.

Queens Place Emera Centre is a major, modern recreation centre that serves the entire Regional Municipality of Queens. The NHL-sized ice surface has double-sided permanent seating for 1000 spectators. The centre was built along with a large Best Western hotel complex to facilitate large tournaments and thus draw visitors to the area. Queens place is home for many hockey teams: local minor hockey team, the Cougars; major hockey team, Western Hurricanes; and a Junior B team, the Liverpool Privateers.

Discover more about Economy related topics

Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited

Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited

The Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited, commonly shortened to Bowater Mersey, is a forestry company operating in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Pulp mill

Pulp mill

A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or fully chemical methods. The finished product may be either bleached or non-bleached, depending on the customer requirements.

Paper mill

Paper mill

A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, all paper in a paper mill was made by hand, one sheet at a time, by specialized laborers.

Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia

Brooklyn, Queens County, Nova Scotia

Brooklyn is a suburban community in the Region of Queens Municipality in Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Harbour at Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Tourism has become increasingly important to Liverpool and the South Shore region in recent decades, particularly as tourists travel the "Lighthouse Route" (a scenic drive between Halifax and Yarmouth). Liverpool has a large number of museums for a small community. They include the Queens County Museum and the adjacent Perkins House the 1766 built residence of Simeon Perkins and now part of the Nova Scotia Museum system. Perkins house was closed to the public in 2015 after the province, citing shifting floor beams deemed the building a safety hazard and that the provincial budget cannot afford the cost of repairs.^[26] It reopened in 2021 after the repairs were eventually completed.^[27]

Other museums include the Museum of Justice located in the former courthouse, the Hank Snow Home Town Museum located in the former Liverpool train station, and two private museums run by Nova Scotian photographer Sherman Hines. Facing Liverpool Harbour is the Fort Point Lighthouse, the third oldest lighthouse in Nova Scotia which contains a lighthouse museum and is surrounded by a public park. In late June of each year, history comes alive in Liverpool during "Privateer Days" when over a long weekend members of the community conduct a parade, provide various entertainment venues, re-enact a Loyalist military and privateer encampment, shoot fireworks, and conduct guided graveyard tours. Liverpool has also become a summer break destination for residents of Halifax due to its warm weather and nearby sandy beaches. Beach Meadows is a 1 km long beach to the east of Liverpool.^[28]

Discover more about Tourism related topics

Lighthouse Route

Lighthouse Route

The Lighthouse Route is a scenic roadway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It follows the province's South Shore for 585 km (364 mi) from Halifax to Yarmouth.

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries.

Simeon Perkins

Simeon Perkins

Colonel Simeon Perkins was a Nova Scotia militia leader, merchant, diarist and politician. Perkins led the defence of Liverpool from attacks during the American Revolution, French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. In the 1770s, Liverpool was the second-largest settlement in Nova Scotia, next to Halifax. He also funded privateer ships in defence of the colony. He wrote a diary for 46 years (1766–1812), which is an essential historic document of this time period in Nova Scotian history. His home is now the Perkins House Museum. He was the grandfather of Joshua Newton Perkins.

Nova Scotia Museum

Nova Scotia Museum

Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and specialized museums and about one million artifacts and specimens, either directly or through a system of co-operative agreements with societies and local boards. The NSM delivers programs, exhibits and products which provide both local residents and tourists in Nova Scotian communities an opportunity to experience and learn about Nova Scotia's social and natural history. More than 600,000 people visit the facilities each year.

Hank Snow

Hank Snow

Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. His number-one hits include the self-penned songs "I'm Moving On", "The Golden Rocket", and "The Rhumba Boogie"; and famous versions of "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Let Me Go, Lover!", "I've Been Everywhere", "Hello Love", as well as other top 10 hits.

Sherman Hines

Sherman Hines

Sherman Hines is a Canadian photographer, born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

Beach Meadows, Nova Scotia

Beach Meadows, Nova Scotia

Beach Meadows is a settlement in the Region of Queens Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the site of Beach Meadows Beach Park.

• Hank Snow (1914–1999), Canadian-American country music artist
• Thomas Head Raddall (1903–1994), author
• Bruce Palmer (1946–2004), musician, bassist, and founding member of country-rock band Buffalo Springfield
• Hal Willis (born 1946), retired ice hockey defenceman

Discover more about Notable residents related topics

Hank Snow

Hank Snow

Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. His number-one hits include the self-penned songs "I'm Moving On", "The Golden Rocket", and "The Rhumba Boogie"; and famous versions of "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Let Me Go, Lover!", "I've Been Everywhere", "Hello Love", as well as other top 10 hits.

Country music

Country music

Country is a music genre originating in the Southern and Southwestern United States. First produced in the 1920s, country primarily focuses on working class Americans and blue-collar American life.

Thomas Head Raddall

Thomas Head Raddall

Thomas Head Raddall was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.

Bruce Palmer

Bruce Palmer

Bruce Palmer was a Canadian musician best known as the bassist in the seminal Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", released three albums and several singles from 1966 to 1968. Their music combined elements of folk music and country music with British Invasion and psychedelic rock influences. Like contemporary band the Byrds, they were key to the early development of folk rock. The band took their name from a steamroller parked outside their house.

Hal Willis (ice hockey)

Hal Willis (ice hockey)

Harold Willis is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman.