Port Shoreham, Nova Scotia

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Port Shoreham in Nova Scotia

Port Shoreham is a rural community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in Guysborough County. It is notable for it's provincial park and fishing on Macpherson Lake.

Geography

Port Shoreham lies along Route 344 on the northern shore of Chedabucto Bay.

Port Shoreham is bounded by the Clam Harbour River on the west, and Clam Harbour Bay to the south.

MacPherson Lake

Aside from Clam Harbour Bay, a dominant geographical feature of the area is MacPherson Lake. The shore of the lake has a significant number of seasonal residences and cottages. The lake is stocked with fish for recreational fishing, and a yearly fishing derby is held.

History

Port Shoreham was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq. The Mi'kmaq name for the area was E'se'katik, meaning "at the place of the clams", referencing the abundant clams in Clam Pond.

In October 1765, Port Shoreham was part of the 20,000 acres granted to Benjamin Hallowell of Boston for settlement. No significant progress on surveying or settling these lands were made until it passed to his two sons, Benjamin Hallowell Jr., and Ward Nicholas Boylston.

Surveying was completed in 1786, with the Port Shoreham area divided up into 150 acre lots. Settlers were primarily Loyalists from New England, but early settlers also came directly from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Port Shoreham was a part of the broader Manchester Township, and was at this time and throughout the 19th century known as "Clam Harbour". In 1901, the name was changed through a provincial act to "Port Shoreham".

The people of Port Shoreham relied on a mix of subsistence farming and fishing up until the mid 20th century. The road running through the community was known as the "Mulgrave Road" as it went from Boylston to Mulgrave. This road was paved and turned into Route 344 in the late 1960's.

Port Shoreham, it's people, and their lifestyle was the inspiration for Charles Tory Bruce's poetry collection The Mulgrave Road (1951) his novel The Channel Shore (1954) and his short story collection The Township of Time (1959).

The population was 193 in the 1911 census, 132 in the 1921 census, and 76 in 1954.

Attractions

Port Shoreham Beach Provincial Park

Notable Residents

Charles Tory Bruce (1906–1971) Canadian poet, journalist, and writer