Abercrombie, Pictou County

About Abercrombie

It is a rural community about 2630 hectares in size, located east of the communities of Granton and Mount William, and north of the Town of New Glasgow, with the East River flowing along to the east, and the Middle River of Pictou flowing along the north west part of the community.

Neighboring communities include: The Town of New Glasgow, the Town of Trenton, Granton, Pictou Landing, Hillside, Mount William, Loch Broom, and Westville Road.

The community was named after General James Abercrombie, a British General with the 42nd or the first battalion of Royal Highlanders. Abercrombie made several campaigns in Canada and was killed at Bunker Hill in 1775.

Robert Dunbar, a sergeant in the 73rd Highland Regiment settled here in 1784. It was on his farm that the wharf for the General Mining Association Railway was finished in 1828.

Other early settlement in the area dates to the late 18th century when land grants were made to officers and men of Highland regiments following the American Revolution. The 1850 Abercrombie Point Map shows the names and locations of many of these early land grants.

Originally it was known as Fraser’s Point, not from an original settler, but from a Fraser family who succeeded the original grantee, Colin MacDonald.  It seems to have succeeded to the name of Abercrombie Point about 1840 however the name itself and the reason for the change has not been well documented.

Its economy historically has included agriculture, ship and rail related industry tied to nearby coal mining operations, and later industrial employment.

In 1868 the Intercolonial Coal Company built a railway line from the Drumond Mine out to a shipping wharf at Granton, and then in 1904 a second pier was built. These rail lines ceased operation around 1930.

From 1838 to 1888 there was a community in the vicinity known as the loading Ground, that contained a Presbyterian Church, a temperance hall and a school-house. A post office was established here in 1882.