Hopewell, Nova Scotia
Hopewell Geography
- Official Community Name: Hopewell
- Geographic Feature Type Category: Populated Place
- Geographic Feature Type: Community
- Latitude / Longitude: 45.479172, -62.702486
Hopewell Maps
- 1:50k Topographic NTS Map: 011E07
- 1879 Pictou County Atlas Map: Section 17 / Section 17 North part
- Nova Scotia Land Grant Map: NS Land Grant map 087
- Nova Scotia 1:10k Topographic Maps:1045450062700 (Hopewell) / 1045450062600 (Eureka)
- Other Maps:
About Hopewell
Hopewell is a rural community located along the West Branch of the East River. It was originally named Milltown because of the grist mills operating in the area (by Donald Gray and Simon Fraser between 1810 and 1815, and by John Duff between 1820 and 1825).
Some people believed that the community was named after the ship that brought Alexander McNutt and the Ulster settlers to Colchester County in 1761. However, in 1852 the village residents became dissatisfied with the name Milltown so they held a meeting, to choose a new name. Neil McKenna, the village saddler, proposed the name of Hopewell which he had saw written over a store on a trip to Halifax. The residents at the meeting, were pleased with that as the name and the village.
Hopewell was partly located on the 500 acre lot granted to Alexander McIntosh in 1797 and which may have been settled by him as early as 1785. The other lot on which Hopewell is located was granted to Alexander McDonald in 1828.
The History of Hopewell contains a few copies of early directories (one from 1864, one from 1866 and one from 1871) that includes names of residents and their occupations.
Hopewell in those early days was on the main line of travel to Sherbrook so a great deal of traffic passed through the village and hotels for travelers such as the Hopewell House, Railway House operated in the Village.
Farms and Farmers of Pictou County by by R. H. Ward details some of the many farms and farmers in Hopewell during between 1919 and 1922.
A Church was built around 1815 at Camerons Brook, and a United Church was built in 1859. A school was built in 1818. A more modern four room school was completed in 1927.A postal way office was established in 1838.
The Intercolonial Railway was built through here about 1866-67. The first rail station n Hopewell was built in 1867 and then replaced in 1925. Shortly after the rail opened, Prince Arthur, later the Duke of Connaught and Governor-General of Canada, visited Hopewell.
The Victorian Horseless Carriage, the first gasoline powered car built in the Maritimes was created in Hopewell furniture maker John MacArthur.
One of Canada’s first automobiles in Canada was manufactured at Hopewell in 1908. “The Nick ” was a two-passenger buggy with iron tires, chain drive, and tiller steering.
A brickyard owned by J.W. Grant and John Macintosh produced high-quality bricks. A spool factory built in 1871 by Dunlap and Major Burt manufactured small spools for the English market. The last mill in Hopewell shut down around 1950, when a large rainstorm caused a flood to wash out the dam and thus eliminated the power source.
A large fire in 1913 destroyed three houses, two barns, two stores and the Forresters Hall.
Population in 1871 was 200.
Population in 1956 was 402.
Hopewell is the home of the Hopewell Footbridge (built in the 1800s, restored in 1991), now a municipal heritage site and one of the last surviving footbridges in North America. Over the years there have been several foot bridges in Hopewell.
For more history see …
The History of Hopewell, by Janet C. Bain. It features many residents, including those who left to seek fortune and the ones who stayed to contribute to the growth of the community. Together it helps paints a vivid picture of the community’s history, filled with anecdotes and memories shared by the residents of Hopewell.
Local Information …
A good source of local information can be found at East River Valley Information Site
Using the crowd sourced Find a Grave app, you can search the MacLean Cemetery or the Saint Columba Cemetery for names, details, and photos and more
[Source: Nova Scotia Place Names – T. Brown / Places of Nova Scotia – C. Bruce Fergusson / wikipedia.org / History of Hopewell – Janet C. Bain ]
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