Boisdale, Nova Scotia Explained

Official Name:Boisdale
Native Name:Gàidhlig

Bhaghasdail

Settlement Type:Community

Boisdale (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Baghasdail) is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island. It was named for Lochboisdale, the main village of the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.[1] Neil Campbell was granted land in the area in 1836. In 1821, Thomas Lockman, an Irishman who came to Cape Breton in 1799 and lived at Lloyds Cove, petitioned for land, and got a grant next to Neil Campbell's lot in 1842. Angus McIntyre got a grant in 1846, and in 1869, land at what was then called Boisdale was granted to Dugald O'Henley. Farming and lumbering were the basic industries.[2] [3] In 1840, a small log church was constructed by Father John Grant on where the present-day church resides.[4] It was replaced by a new building in 1862, which burned down in September 1928.[5] In 1846, Boisdale Parish was officially erected.[6] A post office was established at Boisdale Chapel in 1854. On October 1, 1873 a new post office was established with Michael McIntyre as office keeper.[7] In 1874, the total population of Boisdale, was that of 500. During this time, the area had 1 store, 3 sawmills, 1 grist mill, and a post office, of which mail was delivered bi-weekly.[8] By 1908, it contained 1 hotel, 2 general stores, 1 saw mill, and 2 gristmills. The population at that time, was 300.[9] In 1915, a newer 40,000 gallon open-wood tank was built replacing an older 40,000 gallon wood tank, for the water services within the area.[10] Father Alexander F. MacGillivray, whom was the fifth pastor of Boisdale, had installed the bell within St. Andrew's Church in Boisdale, in 1882, and had built the Glebe house there in 1890. A new and larger bell, cast by the Meneely Bell Company of New York, was installed in St. Andrew's Church, by Father MacGillivray, on Nov. 14, 1897.[11] In 1921, Father Gillis built St. Andrew's Parish Hall, James Johnston of Red Islands, Nova Scotia was the contractor. The formal opening of the hall was held on September 13, 1921. The original St. Andrew's Parish Church was destroyed by fire on Sunday, September 11, 1927.[12] Construction of a new stone church commenced in June 1929, with help from workers from Quebec.[13] [14] [15] The design style of the church was inspired by the Norman architecture as well as the St Mary the Virgin, Iffley church in England.[16] Link, Weber, and Bowers, architects hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed the architecture of the church.[17] The approximate cost of the church was $55,000, but the exterior walls had to be repointed during the summer of 1930, which added an extra $7,500 to the total cost. The new church was blessed on Sunday, August 31, 1930, by Bishop James Morrison, assisted by the late Bishop Alexander MacDonald.[18] In 1931, the total population of Boisdale was 449.[19] There was also a train station located on Station Road, in Boisdale during this time.[20] [21] The former Glebe House for St. Andrew's Church was burnt down in 2011, due to a fire.[22] Dugald Smith was the teacher in 1839, and a school-house had been constructed by that time. A new school-house was completed in 1917.[23] Education within the area dates back to the early 1800s,[24] with the Boisdale Consolidated School closing in 2003.[25] The enrolment for the school, in the 1957–1958 academic year, were 82 students, and 3 teachers.[26] By the 1987 Academic year, there were only 21 students, all within grades primary-second, and fourth.[27] In 1943,[28] within what is now known as Ironville, then known as Boisdale Barrachois until 1907,[29] a youth summer camp was built. The two-week summer camp operated from 1943, until its closure in the 1980s. Efforts were made in 1997 to re-open the camp in the spring of 1998.[30] The camp officially closed in 2010, due to the deterioration of some of the buildings.[31] The property in which the youth camp was on, was sold in 2013.[32] In August 1977, the community of Boisdale, as well as Father Webb, unveiled and held a ceremony for the opening of an indoor stone, ice-skating rink.[33] Father Webb also built a Co-op store (also made of stone), in the 70s. A new hall above the store replaced the old Holyrood Hall, which burned down on December 18, 1975.[34] By 1956, the population of Boisdale was 133.[35] Over the years the population decreased, down to 138 by 1991,[36] and estimated to be 105 by the 2001 Census.[37] [38] To the Hill of Boisdale,a book on the genealogical history of Boisdale was published in 1986, and later in a revised edition in 2001, by Father Allan MacMillan, then Priest of the Diocese of Antigonish.[39] [40] Highland Gold Maple, a family-owned and operated sugar maple producer, has been operating within the area for over fifteen years. In late April 2018, their operation burned to the ground due to a fire.[41] By March 2019, Highland Gold Maple had rebuilt the Sugar Shack and are back in operation.[42]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Place-names and Places of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Archives. Province of Nova Scotia. 31 December 2020.
  2. Nova Scotia Archives. 1967. Nova Scotia Archives - Place-Names And Places Of Nova Scotia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  3. Nova Scotia Archives. 1967. Nova Scotia Archives - Place-Names And Places Of Nova Scotia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  4. n.d. The Parish of Boisdale. St. Francis Xavier University. p.11.
  5. Nova Scotia Archives. 1967. Nova Scotia Archives - Place-Names And Places Of Nova Scotia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  6. Johnston, A.A. (Angus Anthony) (1971). A History of the Catholic Church in Eastern Nova Scotia Volume 2 : 1827-1880. St. Francis Xavier University. p.222. ch.10.
  7. Nova Scotia Archives. 1967. Nova Scotia Archives - Place-Names And Places Of Nova Scotia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  8. Peter Alfred Crossby (1874). Lovell's Gazetteer of British North America. John Lovell. p. 38.
  9. G. Mercer Adam (1908). Lovell's Gazetteer of The Dominion of Canada. John Lovell. p. 321. 4th ed.
  10. Parliament of Canada (1915). Sessional Papers of Dominion Of Canada, Volume 14. p.173
  11. A.J. MacMillan (2001). To The Hill of Boisdale - Pioneer Families of Boisdale, Cape Breton, and Surrounding Areas. Music Hill Publishing. p. xlvii
  12. A.J. MacMillan (2001). To The Hill of Boisdale - Pioneer Families of Boisdale, Cape Breton, and Surrounding Areas. Music Hill Publishing. p. xlvii
  13. Pottie, E. (2020, January 07). Fundraiser seeks to preserve historic 91-year-old Cape Breton church. The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/provincial/fundraiser-seeks-to-preserve-historic-91-year-old-cape-breton-church-394965/
  14. Boisdale.net. n.d. St. Andrew's Parish. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 December 2020].
  15. MacDonald, R. (2020, July 13). Fundraiser aims to restore historic Cape Breton church to its former glory. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.iheartradio.ca/92-3-the-dock/news-trending/fundraiser-aims-to-restore-historic-cape-breton-church-to-its-former-glory-1.12960583
  16. n.d. The Parish of Boisdale. St. Francis Xavier University. p.14.
  17. n.d. The Parish of Boisdale. St. Francis Xavier University. p.16.
  18. A.J. MacMillan (2001). To The Hill of Boisdale - Pioneer Families of Boisdale, Cape Breton, and Surrounding Areas. Music Hill Publishing. p. xlviii
  19. Statistics Canada. The Seventh Census of Canada, 1931, Bulletin No. XXI (1932). Government of Canada. p. 36. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://archive.org/details/1931981931b211932engfra?q=Boisdale
  20. MacKenzie, F. J. (2018, September 18). From Lochboisdale to Boisdale. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/from-lochboisdale-to-boisdale
  21. Photograph found in National Trust for Scotland, Boisdale, Nova Scotia
  22. Fire destroys C.B. church building | CBC News. (2011). Retrieved 28 December 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/fire-destroys-c-b-church-building-1.992547
  23. Nova Scotia Archives. 1967. Nova Scotia Archives - Place-Names And Places Of Nova Scotia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  24. Item 77-440-574 - Boisdale School Pupils [Photograph found in Ronald J. MacDonald, ''Beaton Institute Archives'', Boisdale, Nova Scotia]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://beatoninstitute.com/boisdale-school-pupils-3 (Originally photographed c. 1890)
  25. Abandoned Cape Breton school a risk, says neighbour. (2013, September 10). CBC News. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/abandoned-cape-breton-school-a-risk-says-neighbour-1.1706698
  26. Department of Education (1958). Directory of Schools for the Province of Nova Scotia . Malcolm S. Leonard. p. 41. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.ednet.ns.ca/files/directory-of-public-schools/1957-1958_directory_ns_public_schools.pdf
  27. Department of Education (1987). Directory of Schools for the Province of Nova Scotia . Province of Nova Scotia. p. 33. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.ednet.ns.ca/files/directory-of-public-schools/Directory%20of%20Public%20Schools%201986-87.pdf
  28. Ross, L. (2014, August 15). Happy days at YMCA Camp Barrachois. Cape Breton Post. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.capebretonpost.com/lifestyles/happy-days-at-ymca-camp-barrachois-19240/
  29. Past, T. (2015, April 25). Nova Scotia / Cape Breton Postal History - BOISDALE BARACHOIS (Cape Breton County), N.S. - 17 July 1897 (Split Ring / Broken Circle Cancel) on Canada 3 cents Small Queen Stamp. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/allmycollections/17075578189/in/photolist-nkZju-T1pBHU-8stet5-28gHrXz-5aXNvz-s1UNuv-5aXNuk-5b36N9-nkZBv-5b36RQ-5aXNj2-7oiuz2-51AZHm-8vQvwh-51AZ4u
  30. Government of Nova Scotia, Economic Development & Tourism. (1997, September 22). CAMP GETS NEW LEASE ON LIFE [Press release]. Retrieved December 23, 2020, from https://web.archive.org/web/20171008025122/http://www.novascotia.ca/cmns/msrv/viewRel.asp?relID=%2Fcmns%2Fmsrv%2Fnr-1997%2Fnr97-09%2F97092201.htm
  31. Camp closes due to deterioration of buildings. (2010, February 23). Cape Breton Post. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.pressreader.com/canada/cape-breton-post/20100222/282003258581571
  32. YMCA Selling Camp Barrachois. (2013, June 27). Cape Breton Post. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/ymca-selling-camp-barrachois-5065/
  33. Institute, B., The. (2018, August 24). Opening of the Boisdale rink. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhKR_PL1G68
  34. A.J. MacMillan (2001). To The Hill of Boisdale - Pioneer Families of Boisdale, Cape Breton, and Surrounding Areas. Music Hill Publishing. p. li
  35. Nova Scotia Archives. 1967. Nova Scotia Archives - Place-Names And Places Of Nova Scotia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  36. Statistics Canada. (1993). Place Name Lists - Atlantic Provinces '91 Census. Government of Canada. p. 36. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://archive.org/details/1991933071993engfra/page/n43/mode/2up?q=Boisdale
  37. 2001 Cape Breton Regional Municipality Census [Photograph found in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, 2001 Cape Breton Regional Municipality]. (2007, September). Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://web.archive.org/web/20070927180725/http://www.cbrm.ns.ca/portal/services/mapping/images/cbrm_comm_est_pop_000.jpg (Originally photographed 2000)
  38. [List of communities in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality]
  39. MacDonald, S., 2017. Land And Belonging In Gaelic Nova Scotia. [PDF] St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador: Memorial University of Newfoundland, p.62. Available at: [Accessed 25 December 2020].
  40. MacMillan, A. J. (2001). To the Hill of Boisdale: A Short History and a Genealogical Tracing of the Pioneer Families of Boisdale, Cape Breton and the Surrounding Areas. Sydney, N.S: Music Hill Publications. Retrieved December 25, 2020, from https://www.worldcat.org/title/to-the-hill-of-boisdale-a-short-history-and-a-genealogical-tracing-of-the-pioneer-families-of-boisdale-cape-breton-and-the-surrounding-areas/oclc/48906449/editions?referer=di&editionsView=true
  41. LeBlanc-Smith, Y., 2018. Cape Breton's Largest Sugar Maple Operation Burns To The Ground | CBC News. [online] CBC.ca. Available at: [Accessed 1 January 2021].
  42. Highland Gold Maple, 2019. We Are Back In Business! We Have Rebuilt The Sugar Shack. Now With Mother Nature's Co-Operation, We'll Have Syrup This Spring!!. [image] Available at: [Accessed 1 January 2021].

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