Place-Names of the Province of Nova Scotia

by Thomas J. Brown

Place-Names

OF THE

Province of Nova Scotia

BY

THOMAS J. BROWN

1922

A WORD IN JUSTIFICATION.
——————

THE towns, villages, capes, coves, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes and harbors of this, our glorious province by the sea, have many strange and beautiful names. Many of them were named by the original Indian tribes; others, by the brave Spanish, French, Norse and English adventurers of the early times; and still others by the Scotch, Irish and English emigrants who at a later date luckily made this province their adopted home.

Often have we heard the "stranger within our gates" exclaim: "What an odd [or pretty] name!" "What does it mean?" "And why was it so named?"

This little book is intended to furnish, to a limited extent, the answers to these questions.

The material has been gleaned from many sources; it would obviously have added considerably to the work to have credited the many authorities from which the information has been so ruthlessly plundered. The Author (?) will, however, frankly admit that so far as he is concerned, there is very little of the contents original matter.

The manuscript has been placed in the hands of the printer with the full knowledge of its imperfections, but with the hope that it may some day be of assistance to a more competent craftsman.

As a "Peace Offering," it is dedicated to the memory of Nova Scotia's past and present historians.

Rock Eyrie,

North Sydney, N. S., THOS. J. BROWN.

December, 1922.

---

" Names of places form an important part of our history. They stand as memorials of men and events in the past. They throw light on the scenes and movements of former ages, and therefore cannot be neglected in our study of the development of our country."

An extract from an unpublished MS. on Place-Names, by the late Rev. Dr. Patterson, of Pictou, N. S.

THE INDIAN NAMES OF CANADA.
——————

The memory of the Red Man, How can it pass away,While their names of music linger On each mount and stream and bay;While Musquodoboit's waters Roll sparkling to the main;While falls the laughing sunbeam On Chegoggin's fields of grain;

While floats our country's banner O'er Chebucto's glorious wave,And frowning cliffs of Scatarie The trampling surges brave;While breezy Aspotogan Lifts high its summit blue,And sparkles on its winding way The gentle Sissibou;

While Eskasoni's fountains Pour down their crystal tide;While Ingonish's mountains Lift high their forms of pride;Or while on Mabou's river The boatman plies his oar,Or the billows burst in thunder On Chickaben's rock-girt shore?

The memory of the Red Man, It lingers like a spellOn many a storm-swept headland. On many a leafy dell;Where Tusket's thousand islets Like emeralds stud the deep;Where Blomidon, a sentry grim. His endless watch doth keep.

It dwells round Catalone's blue lake, Mid leafy forests hid,Round fair Descouse and the rushing tides Of the turbid Pisiquid;And it lends, Chebogue, a touching grace To thy softly flowing river.As we sadly think of the gentle race That has passed away forever.

Written by
Mr. Richard Huntington,
Yarmouth, 1883.

AMERICA.

The name first appears in 1499, and is called after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian Astronomer and Explorer. The name as applied to the New World had its origin in Germany.

Columbia, the name sometimes applied to America, is so called from Columbus, who discovered America in 1492.

CANADA.

The name first appears in 1540, and is derived from the Indian word "Kannata" or "Kannatha" which means a settlement, or collection of cabins. It is said to be of Iroquois Indian derivation, and was supposed to have been applied to the Indian encampment at Montreal, but was unwittingly applied by Cartier to the whole country.

MARITIME PROVINCES.

The Maritime Provinces were known by the Indians as "Megamage" i. e. home of the Micmacs, or the true man.

Note. 1.—The names in this book are in alphabetical or dictionary order. Immediately after the name appears the initial letter, or letters of the County in which the place is located.

Annapolis	(A)
Antigonish	(Ant.)
Cape Breton	(C. B.)
Colchester	(Col.)
Cumberland	(C)
Digby	(D)
Guysborough	(G)
Halifax	(H)
Hants	(Hts.)
Inverness	(I)
Kings	(K)
Lunenburg	(L)
Pictou	(P)
Queens	(Q)
Richmond	(R)
Shelburne	(S)
Victoria	(V)
Yarmouth	(Y)

Note 2.—So far as adopted by them to this date the spelling of the place names throughout is the spelling approved by the Geographic Board of Canada.