Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)

, the officers quarters and barracks having burned. The blockhouse is the oldest of its kind in Canada.

Fort Edward played an important role in the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. It was here that operations for the removal of Acadian settlers of the upper Annapolis River valleywere overseen. The fort itself served as a prison site for Acadians, and was never attacked.

The Windsor Agricultural Fair was first held on the Fort grounds in 1765. An annual fall fair is still held nearby as the longest continuous agricultural fair in North America (from 1815). The Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald spent the winter of 1778 - 1779 at the Fort with her husband, Alan Macdonald, before she returned alone to Scotland. Fort Edward remained part of the British defenses in Nova Scotia until 1858. During World War I, it was utilized as a training depot for Canadian and British soldiers. The site became known locally (but not officially) as "Camp Fort Edward" for the duration of the war. Among the recruits passing through the camp was the ill-fated Hollywood film director William Desmond Taylor.

References

* [http://ns1763.ca/hantsco/fortedward.html Photos and history]
* [http://www.glinx.com/~whhs/ftedward.html West Hants Historical Society]
* [http://www.pc.gc.ca/voyage-travel/pv-vp/itm2-/page8_e.asp Parks Canada Site]