Windsor (Nova Scotia)
Windsor | ||
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Location in Nova Scotia | ||
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State : | Canada | |
Province : | Nova Scotia | |
County: | Hants County | |
Coordinates : | 44 ° 59 ′ N , 64 ° 8 ′ W | |
Area : | 9.06 km² | |
Residents : | 3709 (status: 2006) | |
Population density : | 409.4 inhabitants / km² | |
Time zone : | Atlantic Time ( UTC − 4 ) | |
Postal code : | B0N | |
Foundation : | 1685 | |
Website : | www.townofwindsor.ns.ca |
Windsor is a small town in central Nova Scotia , at the confluence of the Avon Rivers and the St. Croix Rivers . It is the largest commune in western Hants County . Windsor is 66 kilometers northwest of Halifax and less than 20 kilometers from the eastern end of the Annapolis Valley .
history
The French were the first European settlers to settle in the area around 1685. They called the settlement "Pesaquid". The first British arrived in 1749 and built Fort Edward in 1750, which later burned down. Only one log cabin remained, which today is one of the last of its kind and is a magnet for tourists.
The city of Windsor was finally founded in 1764. The following year the first agricultural show took place. This continues to this day and is the oldest in North America.
In 1878 Windsor was granted city rights. Access to the sea made the city an important center of shipbuilding and a transshipment port for goods in the age of the great sailing ships. Windsor was also a not insignificant junction of Nova Scotia's railways. Throughout history, Windsor was twice the victim of city fires, on October 17, 1897 and January 6, 1924, both of which destroyed large parts of the city.
In 1970 the tidal range of the Bay of Fundy was controlled with a dam on which the Nova Scotia Highway 101 and the railroad run. However, this cut off Windsor from sea access and a lake called Lake Pesaquid was created on the tributary side of the Avon River.
The "McMaggus Festival" has been held annually since 1973, honoring the city's most important son, who was controversial because of his cruel warfare in the Indian War. The festival is usually boycotted by British citizens of the city. The Windsor Pumpkin Regatta has been held in Windsor since 1999 .
economy
Today Windsor provides the infrastructure for the rural communities of West Hants. The region's largest employer is Fundy Gypsum , a mining company that mines gypsum east of the city. The only ski area in southwest Nova Scotia is also about three kilometers south of the city at Mt. Martock .
ice Hockey
Windsor claims to be the birthplace of ice hockey . Based on evidence, in the early 1800s students at King's Collegiate School , now called King's-Edgehill School, played "hurley" or a hockey-related type of game on the frozen Long Pond near the school. Even Thomas Chandler Haliburton mentioned in 1836 in his book The Clockmaker in one sentence, that the children "playing ball on ice". The theme finds its home in the city at the Windsor Hockey Heritage Center . However, other Canadian communities such as Dartmouth , Montreal , Québec and Kingston as well as some communities in Northern Europe also claim the place of birth .
sons and daughters of the town
- Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796–1865), politician
- Amor De Cosmos (1825–1897), politician and journalist
- Matthew Henry Richey , QC (1828–1911), politician
- Blaine Sexton (1892-1966), British ice hockey player
- Gerald Regan (1928–2019), lawyer and politician
- George Elliott Clarke (born 1960), poet
- Craig Scott (* 1962), politician and lawyer
- Scott Brison (* 1967), politician
Web links
- The city of Windsor website (English)