News

2015 WHHS Welcoming Message

Friends,

Please excuse the delay in posting this message following the annual meeting of the West Hants Historical Society. My appointment as President was a last minute decision. As a consequence I had some outstanding commitments that I had to clear. I took on this office in anticipation that I would soon be replaced with someone younger, with more energy. In the meantime, I am hoping to introduce a few new approaches that might bring the Society closer to the community.

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Request for public input

Dr Julian Gwyn, local author and historian, is currently researching information about a list of names in conjunction with some work he is doing on the diary of Jessie MacCallum. Jessie (1885-1957) was 15 years old when she began her dairy on 1st Jan 1901. Her father was Windsor’s town surveyor.

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research-genealogy

Student Essay Contest Winners: Ella Shaw

The WHHS is pleased to present some of the winning entries from our 2014 Student Essay Contest. The WHHS was a sponsor of this contest, awarding a prize for excellence in historical research in West Hants.

The winning essays were both written by students from Ms Kate Sircom’s grade 3 class at Windsor Forks Elementary School. Essays are presented as submitted by the students with no additional editing.

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WHHS Essay Contest 2014

The West Hants Historical Society is sponsoring an essay contest for all school ages! This contest makes an excellent class or individual project.
Veronica Connelly Prize for Excellence in West Hants Historical Research
West Hants is rich in history. It is our good fortune that there are depositories for information, artifacts and pictures for these historical records. There are several heritage properties, farms, Fort Edward (national historic site managed by West Hants Historical Society), black settlements and evidence of Acadian settlements. It is the society’s intent to encourage the community to actively participate in and benefit from these treasures.

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Dakeyne Farm

Dakeyne Farm Mount Denson, Nova Scotia History is all around us and sometimes it is in clear view but we just don’t pay enough attention. A prime example of this is the faded words printed on this building peeking out from behind the shrubs. Looking at this photo would you assume the building played a

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Dakeyne Farm, Mount Denson NS

WHHS Newsletter: January 2013 – Winckworth Tonge

The Story of Winckworth Tonge

by John Wilson

[excerpt from January 2013 newsletter]

A rather strange combination of obscure surnames, they were carried by one of the early estate owners of Windsor township and an influential member of the colonial government. Traces of the name, or corruptions thereof, can still be found locally as place names, in particular, Tonge Hill and Wentworth.

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WHHS Newsletter: November 2012 – Great Fire of Windsor, 1897

The Great Windsor Fire of 1897 [excerpt from November 2012 Newsletter]
On October 17, 1897, disaster struck the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. At three a.m. that Sunday morning, a fire started that would destroy most the town and leave most of its residents homeless and penniless.

The fire started in the rear of the Marine Block on Water Street and spread throughout the town from King Street to Clifton Avenue, and from the waterfront to the area of Windmill Hill (location of the old Elms Nursing Home).

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GreatFireWindsor1897

WHHS Newsletter: October 2012 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton

The Life of Thomas Chandler Haliburton
by Mark MacGillivray
Thomas Chandler Haliburton was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia on December 17, 1796. He was the son of a known political figure named William Haliburton. His mother died as Thomas was only a year old, so he was raised by his stepmother named Susanna. Growing up in an aristocratic household, young Haliburton attended King’s College from which he received a B.A. in 1815 at the age of 18, beginning his carrier which would eventually land him a job as a judge.

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CliftonHouse_WindsorNS

Hants County Exhibition

Let’s all go to the Fair!
Hants County Exhibition – 247th anniversary
Crisp September days have arrived and that can only mean one thing: It is time for the Hants County Exhibition. With the first exhibition being held May 21, 1765, the Hants County Exhibition claims the title of the oldest agricultural exhibition in North America with this year marking its 247th anniversary.

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Hants-County-Exhibition
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