Hantsport Stories

(Special staff correspondence of The Halifax Herald.)HANTSPORT-ON-AVON. August 25.—While a burnished brass sun burned the pitch pine from her new decks, and caused her white sides to glisten with reflected rays like searchlights thrown upon an ice-berg, the 1,000 ton four-masted schooner Margaret F. Dick slipped smoothly down her tallow coated ways, at the North Shipyards here yesterday afternoon, and nestled into the turbid tidal waters of the Avon silently, smoothly, and naturally as a swooping swallow takes the air. Three thousand people viewed the spectacle lined along the natural amphitheatre which backs the North yards in a sloping hillside which rises to the sky-line, scattered at various points of vantage inside the yards themselves, and watching the launching from the crowded decks of smaller sail and power craft which had gathered from every public and private landing stage on the Avon within a twenty mile radius. And the unanimous opinion was that Saturday's ceremonial was “the finest launchin'...

Captain Fred Whitney Folker A quaint home, owned by a former sea captain, stands on Avon Street in Hantsport overlooking the river. It is situated halfway between the former shipyards of J.B. North and Ezra Churchill & Sons.  Captain's Cabin Years ago the captain added a room to the house resembling a ship’s cabin. Through the porthole, and using a little imagination, one can see the barque Stadacona sailing on the incoming tide to Windsor. Watching from the riverbank is a woman. The captain of the ship, with his son by his side, is waving to his wife as the vessel passes their home.  The imagery is actually more truth than fiction. Captain William Folker took his youngest son Fred with him on numerous voyages aboard the Stadacona in the mid 1890's. Avon River Sunset It could be stated that William and Almira Folker's son cut his nautical teeth on the belaying pins and spars of his father’s barque. And, like his father, his life at sea...

A SERIES ABOUT HANTSPORT MARINERS  Captain William Folker 1837-1921 “His life, spent mainly at sea, sailing to every port in the world, with all its risks and dangers and adventures, abounded with interest, and were the incidents published in a book would be eagerly read.” The above quotation from William Folker’s obituary was obviously written by someone familiar with his life story. Ship logs, newspaper articles, historical records, and family scrapbooks all substantiate that Folker’s nearly forty years at sea were filled with extraordinary adventures. As a risk-taker he reaped astonishing rewards but in some scenarios suffered dire consequences. William Folker was born on July 13th, 1837 in Snettisham, a village in Norfolk County, England; five miles from the North Sea. He took his first risk when he set sail as a cabin boy on a vessel bound for America from King’s Lynn, a nearby seaport. Boys aged 14–16 were often sent to sea by their parents to learn the skills necessary to becoming a master...

A SERIES ABOUT HANTSPORT MARINERS Robert “Bob” Carter Clayton 1916 - 1987 Wireless Operator Bob Clayton was born in Saint John, N.B. His family later moved to Parker’s Cove, N.S. and in 1935 settled in Hantsport.  He was the fourth of seven sons born to Capt. Delbert and Laura (Hudson) Clayton.  The family moved to Hantsport, in part, because of Bob’s health.  Bob had contracted tuberculosis and spent a year in the Kentville Sanatorium. Hantsport, being a seaport, brought employment opportunities for his father who was a tugboat captain. Clayton became engaged to Jennie Doris Ells in 1942.  Doris, a 24 year old stenographer was a Willow Street neighbour but not the only lady Bob was infatuated with at the time. The other was Lady Hawkins, a magnificent luxury ocean liner owned by the Canadian National Steamship lines that called on ports in Montréal, Boston, Bermuda and other Caribbean islands. Officially the vessel was a Royal Mail Ship, but could carry cargo as well as...

In the early 1820s Ezra Churchill (1804-1874), a young man from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, arrived in what was known as the Halfway River settlement, Falmouth District, Hants County, on the west shore of the Avon River estuary. The Halfway River was so-named because it was halfway between the older communities of Grand Pré and Windsor. Ezra Churchill Ezra Churchill began to build ships c. 1840 on the bank of the Halfway River. By 1850 he had established the Churchill Shipyard on the Avon River estuary immediately north of the mouth of the Halfway River. The nearby forest and the vertical range of Fundy tides at that site were ideal for building, launching, and carrying out maintenance on the more than 80 wooden sailing vessels (barques, brigs, schooners, and full-rigged ships) that saw service in the Churchill fleet during the 19th century. Shipyards existed at several other communities around Minas Basin, but the Churchill Shipyard was one of the most active, and the...

Twenty years after the dedication of the William Hall VC Cairn, the Memorial received another plaque - Sunday July 9th, 1967. The final day of the Canadian Centennial Programme in Hantsport was designated William Hall V.C. Memorial Day. The new plaque was fastened to the front of the top base, the inscription reads: THIS CAIRN MARKS THE LAST RESTING PLACE OF WILLIAM HALL, V.C. Led by the Guard of Honour and band from CFB Cornwallis, members of the Royal Canadian Legion, Lucknow Branch 109 Hantsport and the William Hall V.C. Branch 57 Halifax marched from William Street to the Hantsport Baptist Church. At the reviewing stand at the Legion Hall, the Salute was taken by Lieutenant Governor H.P. MacKeen and His Worship the Mayor L.G. Bishop. The church service was conducted by the Rev. Gordon Gower, assisted by the Rev. Dr. W.P. Oliver of Halifax. The address was given by the Rev. George R. Bell, Protestant Chaplain of CFB Cornwallis. This service...

Mayor Claims Lack of Co-operation, Resigns HANTSPORT, March 6/52 – Stemming from vandalism last Hallowe’en, Mayor Burpee T. Smith, resigned at a meeting of Town Council when he claimed that members of the Council were not giving him co-operation as evidenced by refusal to accept his ruling. On Hallowe’en night, two blue spruce trees on the lawn of Town Clerk D. M. Frittenburg were chopped down and a fence on the mayor’s property was also wrecked. Just prior to this incident, town officials, it is said, had been pressing for payment of poll tax arrears. Requests Prosecution Subsequently, Council empowered the mayor to take measures dealing with the apprehension of those responsible and later, with Town Police and R.C.M.P. on the job, His Worship secured circumstantial evidence on which he requested the Council to take action toward prosecution. At the Council meeting Tuesday night, Bruce McDade, Hantsport lawyer, was given permission to address Council on behalf of a client. He demanded that the mayor resign. After...

Lighthouses and light keepers serve many purposes besides marking dangerous coastlines, reefs or shallow areas and guiding ships to safe harbour. They also sound fog alarms, assist in aerial navigation, provide weather observations, maintain radio communication and assist search-and-rescue operations. Mitchener Point Beacon - note the Hantsport Gypsum Shed/Wharf1 and Cape Blomidon in the distance On the Avon River there are two, now inactive, lighthouses; Michener Point in Mount Denson and Horton Bluff in Lockhartville. There may also once have been a light at Summerville. Mitchener Point The following description was provided in the Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries for 1909. It is a wooden tower, square in plan, with sloping sides, surmounted by a square wooden lantern, the whole painted white. It stands on a square cribwork foundation, and is 42 feet high from base to top of ventilator on lantern. The illuminating apparatus is fixed white dioptric2, of the sixth order. The tower was erected by contract, by Mr. L. Mury,...

Photo MP210_7_1 courtesy Maritime Museum of the Atlantic4 Stephen Duncanson (back row, far right) wearing a leather apron, owner of the Hants Border sawmill with his 18-man crew. Notice the two men (back row, 3rd from left and front row, 2nd from right) wearing a padded protector on their left shoulder. This indicates their job as deal pilers. The photos were taken about 1901. In the 1901 Census of Canada, Stephen Duncanson gave his occupation as farmer. In 1911 his occupation is listed as engineer and in 1935, at the time of his death, his occupation is given as merchant – groceries. He purchased the 10 acre property in 1879 from William Beckwith.2 Photo MP210_7_2 courtesy Maritime Museum of the Atlantic4 Interior view of Duncanson’s Hants Border Mill shows six of the crew: left, the setter and dogger riding the log carriage, centre, the sawyer ‘in his stylish cardigan jacket’ and behind him the cantor and, far right, two boys easing logs...

Many families may have lived in the same house over the years, sharing the joys and tragedies of family life. Are you curious who they were and perhaps what their experiences were? Who built your house and when? Who were the previous owners and residents?  The Hantsport & Area Historical Society may be able to help with trained volunteers using resources like Property Online1 which allows access to historical deeds and property records. In combination with genealogical research an interesting profile can be developed as the following example illustrates. The McDade Heritage Centre was contacted by the current owners of the house at 11 Willow Street in Hantsport, Will and Jane Kerr. They knew a little about the history of their property; that it once was the parsonage for the Baptist Church and that it may have been a boarding house at one time. They noted several odd occurrences and thought the house might be haunted. In June 2021 the house was...