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Proactive disclosure Print version   | |  Geographical Names of Nova Scotia
Cape Breton This Census Metropolitan Area, and the island itself, derived its name from the easternmost point on the island. There are several theories as to its origin. The most common suggests that it commemorates the Bretons of Brittany, who were known to be among the earliest fishermen in the area. William Francis Ganong, as part of his argument for Cape Breton as Cabot's landfall, was emphatic that the use of 'Breton' referred to a sixteenth-century designation for the English people. Citing the Concise Oxford Dictionary, he pointed out that, during this period, 'the English themselves at least, Bretons, Brytons, or Bretones'. The final theory points to a possible Basque origin for the name. In the old Basque province of Les Landes, located between Bordeaux and Bayonne, there was an important town and fortress known as 'Cap Breton.' As time went on, the mouth of the adjacent Adour River silted up and the town became an insignificant village; however, the headland remained. Thus, it is reasoned that Cape Breton was so named because Basque sailor-fishermen recalled the last land that they had seen as they sailed from the southeast coast of France, site of the original Cap Breton. All that can be confirmed is that Basque fishermen frequented the coastline of both Cape Breton and Newfoundland during the pre-1600 period. In the absence of documentary evidence, the Basque theory, while entirely plausible, remains unproven. As a result, the Breton origin remains the most convincing. Source: Hamilton, William B. (1996): Place Names of Atlantic Canada, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, pp. 302-303. Related Site: Truro On the site of the pre-1755 Acadian settlement of Cobequid. Its situation was described by John M'Gregor during his British North American travels as 'the most beautiful village in Nova Scotia, and as far as my impressions go, the prettiest that I have seen in America'. The new name was suggested in 1759 upon the resettlement of the area by New Englanders and Ulster Scots. Named for Truro in Cornwall, England, it is often referred to as 'the Hubtown' for its strategic location in relation to the rest of the province. Source: Hamilton, William B. (1996): Place Names of Atlantic Canada, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, p. 411. Related Site: New Glasgow On the East River. Named after Glasgow, Scotland, by William Fraser, who first surveyed the townsite. From his farm at Frasers Mountain, overlooking the location of the future town, 'in forecasting the future [he] saw in a vision another Clyde [the East River] and another Glasgow'. Source: Hamilton, William B. (1996): Place Names of Atlantic Canada, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, p. 370. Related Site : Kentville Originally the site of an Acadian settlement, the town owes its location to the fordable condition, at this point, of the Rivière des habitants (now Cornwallis River). In June 1794, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1767-1820), the father of Queen Victoria, visited the area en route to Annapolis Royal. In 1826, by a vote of the inhabitants, the name was changed from Horton Corner in commemoration of this visit. Two years later, Joseph Howe (1804-1873) reported in his Western Rambles: 'We are now approaching the village of Kentville... it is seated in a valley, and contains about 30 houses; near its centre, the Horton and Cornwallis streets cross each other, and hence arose the old name of Horton Corner'. Source: Hamilton, William B. (1996): Place Names of Atlantic Canada, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, pp. 341-342. Related Site :
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