Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia
This community is seventy miles east of Dartmouth. The Indian name was Weijooikk, 'flowing wildly' or 'running crazily'. The Harbour was called Port North as late as 1807. By 1818 the name 'Sheet Harbour' had come into use, given because of a large white cliff at the harbour entrance which appeared like a sheet spread out to dry.
A church was erected soon after the founding of the settlement. By 1815 this building was already decaying and the people began to build a new one. Work on it ceased, however, when the owner of the land threatened to burn the structure. A new church was built here by 1837. The corner-stone of the Anglican Church of St. Michael and All Angels was laid on May 21, 1950, and the church was at that time opened for services. St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was erected at Quillans Point in 1856. Another church was built in the community about 1860. The new St. Peter's Church was built about 1905, and the old church was torn down. A new Methodist church was opened and dedicated on November 7, 1880. A Presbyterian meeting-house was erected about 1833-34 on Church Point. The new St. James' Presbyterian-later United-Church was erected in 1871-732. The new United Church Hall and Community Centre was under construction in May, 1955.
Linhaven Hotel was at West River before 1870. It was also known as 'Farnells', 'Conrod House', and 'MacDonald House'.
Lumbering and pulp milling have been the chief industries. Sheet Harbour Lumber Company was begun by Nathaniel Curry and Nelson A. Rhodes in 1896. They acquired the West River Mill, built about 1880, from Havelock Hart in 1902. The mill on the East River was built in 1924-25. The business was acquired by the Hearst interests of New York about 1950.
The population in 1956 was: East River Sheet Harbour 93; Sheet Harbour 1,073, Sheet Harbour Passage 124.
Adapted from:
Public Archives of Nova Scotia. ([1967] 1982). Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia. Belleville: Mika Publishing Company.
A. F. Church Map of Halifax County
Sheet Harbour Area
Published in 1865 as a Lithograph
Conserved and Repaired in 2021
Digitized as a tif image
Mounted Plaque with black edges
Material is Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF)
Printed @ 150 dpi
Plaque Size - 16 inches x 20 inches
Framed Print
Printed @ 150 dpi
Print Size - 16 inches x 20 inches
KITH is working with heritage groups in Antigonish, Hants and Halifax counties to preserve and digitize the A. F. Church maps and match the map information with existing genealogical records. The goal is to improve our understanding of the history and social relations in nineteenth century Nova Scotia, and make this data publicly accessible.
