Avon River Heritage Society
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    • Natural History >
      • Highest Tides in the World
      • Tidal Bore
      • Avon Peninsula Ecology
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      • Marine and Freshwater Species of the Avon
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      • Gypsum
    • Pisiquit
    • Mi'kmaq >
      • Mi'kmaq of the Avon River
    • Acadians >
      • Acadians of the Avon River
      • Village Thibodeau (Poplar Grove)
      • Acadian Families After Expulsion
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      • James and Lydia Mosher
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      • The Old Stone House >
        • The Mystery of the Fieldstone House
      • The Mounce Mansions >
        • Captain George R. Mounce House
        • The Thomas A. Mounce House
        • Interior of the Honeymoon House
      • Wallace Point
      • Edmund McCarthy
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    • Golden Age of Sail >
      • Vessels of the Avon River
      • Shipbuilding Process
      • Shipbuilding Tools
      • Ship Directories
      • Sailing Ships, Sugar, and Salt
      • The Hamburg
      • Captain George Richard Mounce Sr
      • The Rotundus
    • Avondale Wharf & The Landing
    • The Avon Spirit
  • Arts & Culture
    • The Great Little Art Show
    • Artists Landing Gallery
    • Open Studio at the Museum
    • Full Circle Festival
    • Artisans in Action
    • Paint Avondale
    • Avondale Wharf Day
    • Corn Boil Challenge
    • Honey Harvest Festival
    • North Along the Shore Jamboree
    • ADAPT, Fibre Art Exhibit
    • Stewards of the Avon River
    • The All's Well Mixture
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  • Lydia and Sally Cafe
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The Arrival of the New England Planters

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After the expulsion governor Lawrence was anxious to repopulate Nova Scotia and on October 12, 1758 issued a proclamation which was published in the Boston Gazette. The proclamation offered land grants and invited proposals. After questions were raised by potential grantees about terms and conditions, Lawrence issued a second proclamation to address specific concerns.

In the spring of 1760 the first of the planters began to arrive in Nova Scotia. The term planter is an old English word for a colonist. In May the first four ships arrived at the Avon River.

Two of the ships landed on the Falmouth side. The other two ships were the Lydia and the Sally, which landed approximately at the site of the museum, along Simpson's Creek. These ships contained grantees from Rhode Island.

New Englanders were known for their independent spirit and Rhode Islanders were perhaps the most independent minded for all. Within days they held the first town meetings to hammer out the issues that faced the new colonists. The minutes of these meetings were recorded and we are fortunate that these have been preserved. A reproduction of these meetings can found in our collections here at the Avon River Heritage Society Museum.

By 1761, 60 families were granted land in Newport and 43 families were counted as living here in a 1763 census. Every family was entitled to up to 1,000 acres free of charge for 10 years. They received tools, arms, ammunition, and a bushel of corn or grain per month for one year. Through a lottery, remaining Acadian homes were divided amongst the new residents, who had until this point been cooped up within the palisades of a fort. At first the families struggled but over time became master dyke builders. They followed Acadian settlement pattern, with homes on the uplands, primary farmland on the dykeland, and woodlots for building materials and firewood. Over time, an economy based on farming, lumbering, ship-building, and gypsum-quarrying grew and the population rose.

One of the conditions they Planters gave before agreeing to come to Nova Scotia was religious freedom and elected representation. Planters were promised control over local affairs through “town meetings”, open to all male heads of households Democratic values of the Planters set the stage for responsible government in Nova Scotia. The nickname "Bluenoser" was given to Planter candidates in later elections to distinguish them from competing Loyalist candidates. 

During the mid to late 1800s the township of Newport Landing had been transformed from a northern New England frontier to a major contributors to the golden age of sail along with other communities such as Windsor, Hantsport, Maitland and Parrsboro to name but a few who made Canada the fourth largest shipbuilding nation on earth.

As Nova Scotia’s economy declined after 1885, people began relocating to the USA or other parts of Canada. Today, millions of descendants of early Planter families reside throughout North America. Some of the lands here are still farmed by descendants of the first Planters.









Après l’expulsion gouverneur Lawrence voulait repeupler la Nouvelle-Écosse et le 12 Octobre, 1758 a publié une proclamation qui a été publié dans Boston Gazette. La proclamation a offert des concessions de terraines et propositions invités. Après les questions était soulevés les bénéficiaires potentiels à propos des conditions générales, Lawrence a publié une deuxième proclamation pour adresser les concernes spécifiques.        
 
Au printemps 1760, le premier des planters ont commencé à arriver en la Nouvelle-Écosse. Le terme planter est un vieux mot anglais pour un colon. En mai, les quatre premiers navires sont arrivés à la rivière Avon.
 
Deux des navires ont débarqué sur le côté Falmouth. Les deux autres navires étaient le Lydia et le Sally, qui ont débarqué  à peu près à l'emplacement du musée, le long du ruisseau Simpson. Ces navires contenaient les bénéficiaires de Rhode Island.
 
Les personnes de la Nouvelle-Angleterre étaient connues pour leur esprit indépendant et les personnes de Rhode Island étaient peut-être le plus indépendant d'esprit pour tous. En quelques jours, ils ont organisé la première réunion de la ville pour négocier les problèmes qui ont fait face les nouveaux colons. Les procès-verbaux de ces réunions ont été enregistrés et nous avons la chance que ceux-ci aient été préservés. Une reproduction de ces réunions peuvent être trouvés dans nos collections ici, au l’Avon River Heritage Society Museum.
 
Au milieu à la fin des années 1800 le canton de Newport Landing avait a été transformée d'une frontière nord de la Nouvelle-Angleterre à l'un des principaux contributeurs à l'âge d'or de la voile avec les autres communautés comme Windsor, Hantsport, Maitland et Parrsboro pour ne citer que quelques-uns qui ont fait Canada la quatrième plus grande nation de la construction navale sur la terre .

Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Avondale/Newport Landing, Hants County, Nova Scotia, B0N 2A0
Email us at infoavonriver@gmail.com
Telephone us, May through October, at (902) 757-1718