Steam Mill Village is a

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 north of

Kentville Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. History Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis Ri ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

beside

Camp Aldershot 5th Canadian Division Support Group Detachment Aldershot (also 5 CDSG Det Aldershot) is a training facility for 5th Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. It is located in Kings County, Nova Scotia. 5 Cdn Div Support Group Det Aldershot is loca ...

. It is named after an early steam-powered saw mill.

Geography

Steam Mill Village is located about 10 km north of Kentville. Route 359, runs through the community. Steam Mill occupies low sandy hills of

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

marked by stands of oak trees and many large pines. The upper reaches of the

Canard River The Canard River is a river in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada which drains into the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy between the communities of Canard, Nova Scotia, Canard and Starr's Point, Nova Scotia, Starr's Point. It is known for its fertil ...

flow through the northern part of Steam Mill Village.

History

Steam Mill is near the headwaters of the

and was once the head of tide from the river's saltwater estuary. The area was used by early

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

settlers and later

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 ...

at nearby Upper Dyke on the Canard River who used the Steam Mill area in the 18th century as upland pasture. Near the present day crossing of Route 359 over the river, the Acadians built the first of series of dykes across the Canard River, pushing back the salt water tides to create highly productive farmland along the river. In the 19th century, the community was the site of one of the first steam

saw mills A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimens ...

in Kings County, thus earning its name. The mill is believed to have operated where the Elm Grove cemetery stands today. In 1889, the

Cornwallis Valley Railway The Cornwallis Valley Railway (CVR) was a historic Canadian railway in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. It was built in 1889 and ran from Kentville to Kingsport serving the Cornwallis Township area of Kings County. For most of its history, it ...

, a

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

of the

Dominion Atlantic Railway The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley. The Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR) was unusually divers ...

arrived which later became the Kingsport Subdivision of the DAR with the railway station at Steam Mill Village appearing as "Mill Village" on railway timetables.

, a militia training camp was established in 1904 beside Steam Mill. After World War II, the community became the site of several plants selling bulk feed and agricultural supplies located along the railway. In 1961, the Cornwallis Valley Railway was abandoned beyond Steam Mill, making the community the terminus of the "CVR Spur" serving the bulk feed mills. Railway service ended completely in 1993 and the tracks were removed in 1994."Mill Village", ''Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Institute''
/ref>

References

Nova Scotia Archives: Place Names of Nova Scotia, "Steam Mill", p.644
Communities in Kings County, Nova Scotia Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia {{KingsNS-geo-stub