The Town of Trenton has always been known as an industrial center and is located along the east side of the East River, north of the Town of New Glasgow. An early name for the area was Smelt Brook. The Town name was eventually changed to Trenton after Trenton, New Jersey, by Harvey Graham in 1882. Trenton was incorporated as a town in 1911.
Stellarton is one of the five Pictou County Towns, it is located along the East River south of the Town of New Glasgow. It was named after a bed of coal known as “stellar” or “oil” coal. The original name for the area was Albion Mines, the name given by the General Mining Association to their collieries in 1827. At a public meeting held in 1870, the place was renamed to “Stellarton” to represent the high-oil content coal known as Stella coal that was abundance in this area.
Stellarton has a rich history in coal mining and is the hometown of Sobeys, a Canadian Grocery icon.
New Glasgow is the largest town in Pictou County, located near the head of tides on the East River, north of Stellarton, and south of Trenton. It was named after Glasgow, Scotland in 1809; by Donald McKay.
Pictou is a small a historic Town in Pictou County located along the west side of Pictou Harbour. The name is believed to be derived from the Mi’kmaq word “Piktook” meaning a large explosion, and references the noise made by large waves. It is also believed that it could be a corruption of Poictou, an old province in France. The town was laid out in 1788 and the first house was built about 1790.
Westville is one of five towns in Pictou County, it is located south west of Stellarton. The area was originally known as Acadia Village but was renamed to Westville at a public meeting in 1868, probably because it was the westernmost of the East River mining towns. The town was incorporated in August, 1894.