Amherst, Nova Scotia
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| Part of a series about Communities in Nova Scotia |
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| Nova Scotia Municipalities, Towns & Villages | ||
| Town of Amherst, Nova Scotia | ||
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| Motto: Faith in our people, pride in our products | ||
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| Community Statistics | ||
| Area | 16.86 km² | |
| Population | 9470 * | |
| Population_Density | 561.6/km²* | |
| Earnings | $38,831 + | |
| Latitude | 45° 49' N | |
| Longitude | 64° 13' W | |
| Elevation | 22.11 m | |
| Government | ||
| Warden/Mayor | Jerry Hallee | |
| Governing Body | Amherst Town Council | |
| Other Information | ||
| Website | http://www.town.amherst.ns.ca/ | |
| Time Zone | AST | |
| Postal Code | B4H | |
| Footnotes | ||
| * According to StatCan Census Year 2001 | ||
| + Median household income, 2000 ($) - All households | ||
Amherst is a town in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada, approximately 194 kilometres northwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia and 3 kilometres from the New Brunswick border. As of 2001 the population was 9,470. It is located within the Atlantic Time Zone, UTC -4.
Amherst is located at the exact geographic center of the maritimes making it a very important town in the local transportation industry especially with imports/exports going through the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia border. The town is a two hour drive from Nova Scotia's capital Halifax, a one and a half hour drive from the Halifax International Airport, a one hour drive from Prince Edward Island and a forty minute drive from Moncton, New Brunswick. Amherst is the largest town in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.
According to Dr Graham P. Hennessey, "The Micmac name was Nemcheboogwek meaning "going up rising ground". The Acadians who settled here as early as 1672 called the village Les Planches. It was named Amherst by Colonel Joseph Morse, the first settler, in honor of Lord Jeffrey Amherst, Commander of the British forces in America."
The town was first settled in 1764 by immigrants from Yorkshire following the Expulsion of the Acadians, with the original settlement being located three kilometres southwest of on the Bay of Fundy. These settlers were joined by British Loyalists during the American Revolution. A mill was built on the current townsite, and the residents moved to be closer to work.
Amherst experienced unprecedented industrialization in the late 1870s until World War I after the construction of the Intercolonial Railway through the community. Numerous foundaries, factories and mills soon opened, giving rise to the nickname "Busy Amherst".
Local industrialists and entrepreneurs constructed many fine Victorian and Edwardian homes along Victoria Street East, leading toward the farming hamlet of East Amherst. Many notable residents have lived in this district, including Sir Charles Tupper; Senator Thomas R. Black; the Barker Family; the Lamy Family; Dr. Cogan; Christian Cardell Corbet; the Pugsley Family; and Molly Simmons Critchely. Four fathers of Confederation came from Amherst: Edward B. Chandler, Robert B. Dickey, Jonathan McCully, and Charles Tupper.
Amherst's prosperity would not last as the failed economic policies of the federal and provincial governments, coupled with World War I, saw the town's industrial economy begin a slow decline during the 1910s, punctuated by the Amherst General Strike in 1919 where worker unrest over social and economic conditions led to mass protests.
The eventual closure of companies such as Robb Engineering & Manufacturing, Canadian Car & Foundary, Amherst Pianos, among others led to a resignment of lost dreams as the town was overtaken by other newer manufacturing centres in central Canada during the 20th century. Amherst had a modest-sized industrial park constructed during the 1960s when the Trans-Canada Highway was being developed. Today the majority of the town's major employers are located there, including Polycello and IMP Aerospace.
Amherst hosted a prisoner of war detention centre during World War I, and Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was incarcerated there for several months after he was arrested in Halifax, Nova Scotia in April 1917.
During World War II the Royal Canadian Navy named a Flower class corvette HMCS Amherst.
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[edit] Businesses
Amherst is the business hub of Cumberland County, and the first town a visitor will encounter when travelling into Nova Scotia from New Brunswick. The town has several big-box stores, including Wal-Mart, Sobeys, Atlantic Superstore, Zellers, Kent Building Supplies and Shoppers Drug Mart. There are also small-town shops, and family run restaurants in the downtown area, as well as various historic buildings. Due to the town's location on Highway 104 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway), many fast food restaurants and family restaurants in the Albion street and Robert Angus Drive area are popular places to stop.
[edit] Sports Teams
The most popular sports team in Amherst is the Amherst Ramblers.
[edit] Notable Natives
- Willard Boyle, inventor of the charge-coupled device (CCD).
- Bill Casey, politician
- Leslie Feist, performer
- Sandy Goss, Olympian
- Rocky Johnson, professional wrestler
- Willard M. Mitchell, artist and architect
- Peter Myles, film music editor
- Charles Tupper, Prime Minister of Canada
- Robert Barry Dickey
- Edward Barron Chandler
- Jonathan McCully
[edit] External links
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Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Counties | Annapolis - Antigonish - Cape Breton - Colchester - Cumberland - Digby - Guysborough - Halifax - Hants - Inverness - Kings - Lunenburg - Pictou - Queens - Richmond - Shelburne - Victoria - Yarmouth |
| Regional Municipalities | Cape Breton - Halifax - Queens |
| Incorporated Towns | Amherst - Annapolis Royal - Antigonish - Berwick - Bridgetown - Bridgewater - Canso - Clark's Harbour - Digby - Hantsport - Kentville - Lockeport - Lunenburg - Mahone Bay - Middleton - Mulgrave - New Glasgow - Oxford - Parrsboro - Pictou - Port Hawkesbury - Shelburne - Springhill - Stellarton - Stewiacke - Trenton - Truro - Westville - Windsor - Wolfville - Yarmouth |
| Other Communities | Bedford - Bible Hill - Cole Harbour - Dartmouth - Dominion - Eastern Passage - Fall River - Glace Bay - Greenwood - Halifax (former city) - Liverpool - Louisbourg - Lower Sackville - New Minas - New Waterford - North Sydney - Sydney - Sydney Mines - Weymouth |
