The Aspotogan Peninsula () is a
peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
in the eastern part of
Lunenburg 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 ...
, separating
St. Margarets Bay in the east from
Mahone Bay
Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands (potentially 365), and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the M ...
in the west. The peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants on the east (St. Margarets Bay) side and by second generation German immigrants on the west (Mahone Bay) side. Traditionally fishing was a major industry for communities throughout the peninsula, however other primary industries such as farming and forestry were historically important as well. Shipping and shipbuilding were secondary and tertiary industries that also came into prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Communities
The coast of the Aspotogan Peninsula is dotted with a number of small fishing and tourist-related communities;
Hubbards in the northeast being the largest. Other communities going from Hubbards clockwise around the peninsula include
Fox Point,
Mill Cove,
Birchy Head,
The Lodge,
Northwest Cove,
Southwest Cove,
Aspotogan,
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
,
New Harbour,
Blandford
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census.
The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...
,
Upper Blandford,
Deep Cove, and
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
.
Route 329 circles the peninsula along the coast while
Trunk 3 and
Highway 103 pass to the north.
History: Eighteenth century
The name Aspotogan is a corruption of Ashmutogun or Ukpudeskakun meaning "block the passageway or where the seals go in and out". Because the high land of the Aspotogan is the highest on the south shore, the land was used as a marker for sailors coming from Europe and the West Indies on their way to Hallfax. Along with the
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 ...
, there were primarily three strains of immigrants who settled the Aspotogan Peninsula: first the
Newfoundland Irish
The Irish language was once spoken by some immigrants to the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland before it disappeared in the early 20th century. The language was introduced through mass immigration by Irish speakers, chiefly from coun ...
(1750s), then the
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ...
arrived from
Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester is a village on the Chester Peninsula, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada.
History
The French had been present in Acadia since the early 1600s, but when the British expanded into the area in the 1700s, Acadian settlements on the South ...
(1760s) and, finally, second generation
Foreign Protestants arrived from
French Village, Nova Scotia and
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg () is a port town on the South Shore (Nova Scotia), South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia.
Historically, Lunenburg's economy relied o ...
(1780s). The community of
Blandford, Nova Scotia was the first community on the Aspotogan to be settled. The first recorded school house was built in
Mill Cove, Nova Scotia (before 1833).
Mi'kmaq
The Aspotogan was first settled by
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 ...
who were a nomadic people. Mi'kmaq sites have been found in Fox Point, Northwest Cove, the village of Aspotogan and East River. They would settle along the Atlantic coast in the summer and move in land to the lakes in the winter. They lived on the Aspotogan until the beginning of World War II (1939).
Newfoundland Irish
The Acadians never lived on the Aspotogan Peninsula; however, their presence in Nova Scotia significantly influenced immigration to the colony. Even forty years after the British conquest of Nova Scotia (1710), the population of Nova Scotia was still dominated by Catholic Acadians (population 10,000). To off set the Catholic population, with the founding of Halifax (1749), the British created an immigration policy to attract Protestants to the colony.
Apart from the Foreign Protestants, the first immigrants to settle the Aspotogan Peninsula may have been Newfoundland Irish, who were Catholics. By 1750, there were 3500
Newfoundland Irish
The Irish language was once spoken by some immigrants to the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland before it disappeared in the early 20th century. The language was introduced through mass immigration by Irish speakers, chiefly from coun ...
in Nova Scotia. By 1767, there were 22 Newfoundland Irish Catholics living on the Peninsula. Those who settled in the Aspotogan Peninsula seemed to have left the area after a short time. There are only three family names that remain: Murphy, Keating and Carroll. The only other evidence of these early immigrants that remains are landmarks named after them such as Riley Point and Riley's Lake in
New Harbour, Nova Scotia and Hollahan Lake in
Deep Cove, Nova Scotia. These Newfoundland Irish are sometimes referred to "three boaters", moving from Ireland to Newfoundland, then to Nova Scotia, before finally settling in Boston.
New England Planters
Prior to 1767, the Protestants who settled the Aspotogan Peninsula were the
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ...
, primarily from Massachusetts. For these Protestants from New England, the Governor of Nova Scotia established Chester (1759). Some of these New England Planters eventually crossed Mahone Bay to settle on the Aspotogan Peninsula. Nova Scotia Lt. Governor Michael Franklin reported that by January 1, 1767, there were eleven Americans already living on the Peninsula.
According to Nova Scotia Lt. Governor Franklin's return, by 1767 there were also 62 English living on the Aspotogan. The identities and location of the English who migrated to the Peninsula are unknown. They may have been associated with English names such as Hubbards and Blandford. It is unknown if after the American Revolution (1783), Loyalists from America settled on the Peninsula.
Foreign Protestants
After 1767, a significant strain of immigrants to settle the Aspotogan Peninsula was
Foreign Protestants, both German and French speaking. Upon the founding of Halifax in 1749, Nova Scotia was a British Protestant colony with only Catholic Acadian settlers. In an attempt to assimilate the Catholic Acadians, the British invited Protestants from across Europe to settle in Nova Scotia. Between 1750 and 1753, over 2500 "Foreign Protestants" had arrived in Halifax. After living in Halifax for three years, Lunenburg was established for these "Foreign Protestants" (1753).
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
(1776–83), the Americans plundered Lunenburg, burning buildings and taking prisoners (1782). After the Raid on Lunenburg, many German speaking and French speaking residents left Lunenburg. Some German-speaking residents went to nearby Rose Bay, while French-speaking residents established
French Village, Nova Scotia in St. Margaret's Bay (1783). The west side of the Aspotogan Peninsula was first settled primarily by Germans from Rose Bay, while the east side of the Aspotogan was settled by the French, crossing St. Margaret's bay from French Village. Part of the German tradition that remained on the Peninsula until the end of the 20thcentury was the export of sauerkraut. Zinck p. 43-48
Notable residents
One of the most famous people to make Deep Cove their home was
Cyrus Eaton
Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. (December 27, 1883 – May 9, 1979) was a Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned 70 years.
For decades Eaton was one of the most powerful financiers in the American ...
, a millionaire industrialist. He invited guests to stay at his home such as the first astronaut in space,
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...
.
Tourism
During the 1800s tourism increased and Hubbards became a regular stopping place for the stagecoach. The
Halifax and Southwestern Railway between Halifax and Yarmouth, completed in 1905, carried both passengers and freight and crossed the base of the peninsula. This provided easy rail access for visitors to the scenic splendor and beaches of the area and made the Aspotogan Peninsula a popular tourist destination.
Many hotels and cottages were established during this period, including The Gainsborough.
In 1969,
Highway 103 was completed linking Hubbards to Halifax with a 2-lane
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
. With a driving time of only 45 minutes, more residents began to commute to Halifax for work. Reasonable land prices and the opportunity to live in a rural setting also encouraged many city dwellers to move to the area.
Tourism continues to be an important contributor to the local economy, drawing people from all over the world. Local bed and breakfast operators and inns, restaurants, and campgrounds are busy during the summer months. The
Shore Club, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, remains one of the last great dance halls in the area and is well known for its Saturday night dances and
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 ...
suppers.
The 131-room
Aspotogan Sea Spa was conceived as a luxury getaway for European tourists. Construction was halted in the mid-1990s when the developers ran out of money. The five-storey hotel, substantially complete, sat abandoned for two decades before being demolished in 2016.
Military
Regiments were raised on the Aspotogan to defend against possible
Fenian Raids, such as the regiment at
Blandford, Nova Scotia.
During World War I, the military built a forty-foot look off at the peak of the Aspotogan mountain.
[Lily Zinck 2004. Echoes of Deep Cove. Norstead Farm Press. p. 24.]
The Gainsborough hotel was sold to the federal government in 1944 and was used as part of the St. Margaret's Bay Training School for the
Canadian Merchant Navy
Canada, like several other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations, created the Canadian Merchant Navy () in a large-scale effort during World War II. A total of 12,000 men and women served in Canada's Merchant Navy. By war's end, 1,500 Can ...
. (In 1969, the J.D. Shatford Library was built on the site.)
In 1967,
Canadian Forces Station Mill Cove (CFS Mill Cove) was opened to provide a naval radio communications receiving station for
Maritime Forces Atlantic
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station.
...
. The radio station consisted of approximately of land, private married quarters, and administration buildings. The complex was a major employer and contributor to the local economy until it was automated in the late 1990s.
Film, television and literature
In 1994, the Aspotogan Heritage Trust was created to oversee the renovation and re-population of the land and buildings that were decommissioned at CFS Mill Cove following the automation of the receiver station. The Trust markets these assets as Mill Cove Park and includes the province's first dedicated
sound stage
A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...
(established in 1996) in the former administration and gymnasium buildings. More than $40 million of film and TV production took place at this sound stage over a 5-year period, including filming for the
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
series ''
Black Harbour'' and ''
Blackfly''.
The Hollywood film ''
High Tide at Noon'' (1957) was filmed at
Northwest Cove, Nova Scotia while ''
The Shipping News'' with Kevin Spacey was filmed in Blandford, Nova Scotia.
Author
Frank Parker Day lived on
East Ironbound, an island which is just off the shore of
Blandford, Nova Scotia. He based his bestselling novel ''
Rockbound'' on his experience on the island.
Kirsten Dunst and Lynn Redgrave filmed ''
Deeply'' on East Ironbound.
References
Secondary Sources
*
Winthrop Pickard Bell. (1961). ''The "Foreign Protestants" and the Settlement of Nova Scotia''
*Mather Byles DesBrisay (1895). ''History of the county of Lunenburg''
External links
Aspotogan Peninsulaby the Aspotogan Heritage Trust
{{Coord, 44, 32, 22.1, N, 64, 5, 17.5, W, scale:100000, display=title
Peninsulas of Nova Scotia
Landforms of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia