New Lairg, Nova Scotia
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- Official Name: New Lairg
- Gaelic Name: Luirg Ùr
- Geographic Feature Type Category: Populated Place
- Geographic Feature Type: Community
- Latitude / Longitude: 45.454151, -62.811247
- NTS Map Number: 011E07
- 1879 Pictou County Atlas: Section 11
- Nova Scotia Land Grant Map Number: Crown Land Grant Map 087
- Nova Scotia 1:10k Topographic Map Number: 1045450062800 (New Gairloch)
- Mineral Resource Land Use Map 011E07
New Lairg is a rural community located on the upper Middle River south of New Gairloch and west of Concord, along NS Route 289 (Gairloch Road).
The area was settled around 1802 by immigrants from Scotland, and is believed to be named after Lairg, a village in Sutherland (Scotland).
The translation of its Gaelic name (Luirg Ùr), means new shaft and could possibly also reference the geology of the area. In the 1800s a large vein of specular iron ore, was traced from New Lairg, near Glengarry, eastward to near the East Branch of the East River. An 1899 report indicates several claims had been staked around the Lansdowne / New Lairg areas after the discovery of copper. Gold and silver was also discovered in several assays (metallurgical tests).
About 730 tonnes of ore mined from the area was shipped by rail to a small smelter in Pictou before weak base metal prices following the Boer War (1899-1902) caused the mine to close.
Exploration was on and off since the 1950s with little significant activity happening, until some exploration work resulted resulted in an odd discovery: ‘a body was found at the bottom of a mine shaft’. According to police, it was of a person who went missing in 1983 (19 years before the remains were discovered).
The only thing really located in the mine today are bats. The mine shafts were sealed after the body was discovered in 2002, with a pipe left to provide bats access to the tunnels. Abandoned mines provide an important habitat for bats during hibernation
Two geocaches are hidden near the site of the abandoned copper mines in New Lairg. One, waypoint is located just off of the Lairg road along the east side. The second is closer to the top of the hill. For more details on these geocaches see https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2GEPB
You can details about several historic profiles of people who grew up in New Lairg, Pictou County around the 1800s here:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:New_Lairg%2C_Nova_Scotia
Population of the area in 1871 was 53
Using the crowd sourced Find a Grave App, you can search theNew Lairg Pioneer Cemetery (includes names, photos and more).
[Source: Nova Scotia Place Names – T. Brown / Places of Nova Scotia – C. Bruce Fergusson / faclair.com / 1871 CENSUS / NotYourGrandfathersMining.ca ]
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