Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia

Maitland in Nova Scotia

Maitland, East Hants, Nova Scotia (originally known as Jean Peter's Village) is a village in the East Hants, Nova Scotia municipal district, and home to the historic Lawrence House Museum,^[1] part of the Nova Scotia Museum. The community was part of the Douglas Township until it was named Maitland after Governor General of Nova Scotia Peregrine Maitland (1828–34), when building the Shubenacadie Canal was first attempted (1826–1831). The Canal was supposed to start at Maitland, Nova Scotia and run through the province to Maitland Street, Dartmouth, the canal being "bookended" by two "Maitland" landmarks.^[2]

History

Maitland was first settled by the Acadians. After the Acadian exodus from the region (1750), the village was eventually settled by Ulster Scots whose descendants became shipbuilders.

Acadians

Charles Morris Map of Maitland, 1752 (inset)

Maitland was settled by Jean Pitre (i.e., Peters), son of Jean Denis Pitre, prior to the Acadian Exodus. Oral tradition states that the Oak Island Graveyard was an Acadian burial ground, which was consecrated by Abbe Jean-Louis Le Loutre. Oral tradition also states that a path which connects the “French Field” in Selma to the cemetery in Maitland is the old Acadian roadway.

Several of Jean Denis Pitre’s children married the children of Noel Doiron and Robert Henry from the neighbouring communities of Vil Noel (Noel, Nova Scotia) and Vil Robere respectively. In 1750 the Acadians at Maitland joined the Acadian Exodus during Father Le Loutre's War and moved to Riviere Nord-Est, Ile St. Jean (present day Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island)). The former of inhabitants of Maitland died in 1758 during the Expulsion of the Acadians in the sinking of the Duke William.

Ulster Scots (Irish)

After the exodus of the Acadians from Maitland (1750), the land was owned but never settled by Malachy Salter. Decades after the village was vacanted by the Acadians, the village was settled by Ulster Scots people such as the Putnams (c.1771).

Shipbuilding

William Dawson Lawrence was Maitland's most famous shipbuilder. His ship, the William D. Lawrence, was the largest wooden ship ever built in Canada and third largest in the world, was launched at Maitland in 1874 to one of the largest crowds assembled in Nova Scotia to that date. ^[3] Every September Maitland celebrates the launch of William D. Lawrence at a weekend festival called "Launch Days".^[4]

Architecture

Lawrence House Museum, Maitland, Nova Scotia

Maitland was Nova Scotia's first Heritage Conservation District. The centre of the village is a Heritage Conservation District because of its many fine and well-preserved examples of Victorian architecture. The styles of architecture include Gothic, Federal, Colonial, Cape Cod (house), Greek Revival architecture, Second Empire (architecture) and Italianate, of which style the Lawrence House shows many fine details.^[5] Coordinates: 45°19′4.57″N 63°29′51.46″W / 45.3179361°N 63.4976278°W / 45.3179361; -63.4976278

Notable residents

William D. Lawrence

William Dawson Lawrence was one of the most successful ship builders in the Maritimes, most famous for building Canada's largest wooden ship, the William D. Lawrence. In an unpublished manuscript written in 1880 toward the end of his life, he wrote of the maiden voyage of the William D. Lawrence. He described returning to the place of his birth, Lawrencetown, County Down, Ireland (close to Gilford, Ireland). He also recollects being mortified by a bull fight that he saw in Peru and enjoying the masked ball he attended while in Paris. During one of his stays in London, Lawrence also attended a sermon of the famous preacher and writer Charles Spurgeon.

Lawrence was also a politician and wrote passionately for Nova Scotia's independence in the anti-Confederation Campaign. He ran successfully as a MLA with Joseph Howe running as an MP, both as anti-Confederates in the Hants County elections of 1867. Two years later, much to Lawrence's dismay, Joseph Howe conceded to Confederation and ran in a by-election on a platform for making "better terms" for Nova Scotia within Canada. Howe won which later led to Lawrence's defeat in the following election (1871).

Other Notable Residents

• Birthplace of Willard Miller, Spanish American war hero, one of the famous "Miller Brothers".
• Kate McArthur who was made famous through surviving for many days at sea in a lifeboat and then giving birth upon being rescued.

References

1. ^ Podunk Community Profile: Maitland
2. ^ Halifax Street Names: An Illustrated Guide by Shelagh Mackenzie (Editor), 2004
3. ^ Maritime Museum of the Atlantic William D. Lawrence Infosheet
4. ^ Maitland, NS Launch Days Festival
5. ^ Stephen Archibald and Sheila Stevenson. Heritage Houses of Nova Scotia 2003. Formac Publishing.