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About
Our Valley
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Our
Historical Roots
At
a time when many think the world is spiraling out of control,
residents of the Musquodoboit Valley are still enjoying a way of
life that has been their history for more than two hundred years.
Direct descendants of the original families that first settled the Musquodoboit
Valley in the late 1700s remain. Local residents take pride knowing they have carried forward the oral histories and traditions of their ancestors.
In Musquodoboit Pioneers: A Record of Seventy Families: Their Homesteads and Genealogies
(1780-1980), author Jenny Reid recounts detailed information about the settlement of the Musquodoboit Valley.
The Musquodoboit River, along which the communities of the Musquodoboit Valley first settled, is approximately 97 kilometres in length. It is one of the few rivers in central Nova Scotia that supports a healthy population of Atlantic sea trout and salmon.
The river is also a popular recreational destination
for canoeists and kayaking enthusiasts.
In the mid 1800s, the Nova Scotia government lured immigrants from Iceland to settle here. Between 1875 and 1882,
at Markland (near Caribou), Icelandic families tried to carve out a new life in the barren wilderness. Their stories have been captured and published by the
Icelandic Memorial
Society.
Tragedy struck our Valley on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1936. The
Moose River Gold Mines
Disaster will always be remembered. Three men were trapped 150 feet below the earth’s surface for 10 days – only two survived. The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission sent Frank Willis to the scene where he made the first
live reports to 100 million listeners from the disaster location.
It was North America's very first live broadcast from a disaster
scene: forever changing the delivery of news.
Through the efforts of many volunteers, family and
community histories have been compiled and recorded to provide
factual information to those searching their genealogy. As well, records of all the church cemeteries within the Musquodoboit Valley are updated regularly and are available upon request by contacting the
Musquodoboit Valley Tourism Association.
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Waddya
know...?
Sometime
in the 1930s, while fishing on one of the lakes in the Murchyville
area, two men believed they caught sight of a treasure chest under
the water’s surface. Research revealed that the British had
attempted to intercept a French payroll intended for Louisburg
during the 1700s. It is believed the French ducked in to a small
harbour, unloaded the payroll and burnt their ship. Then, they
came inland by following one of the established native routes,
traveled the water courses to the Musquodoboit Valley to hide the
booty. The harbour where the ship was torched since became known
as Ship Harbour.
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