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Before the arrival of European settlers, Parrsboro was a portage point for Mikmaq travellers along the Minas Basin and Cumberland County river systems. The native inhabitants called the region “Awokum,” meaning a ‘short-cut’ or ‘passing-over point.
The first European settlers were the Acadians in 1670 at the western mouth of the Parrsboro Harbour, near Partridge Island. After they were expelled in 1755, they were replaced by New England Planters.[3] The centre of settlement gradually shifted from Partridge Island to the sheltered estuary of the Parrsboro River where a harbour and surrounding mills grew. The settlement, at first named Mill Village, was renamed Parrsboro in honour of Nova Scotia Governor John Parr in 1784, and the town was incorporated on July 15, 1889.
The Old Town Hall and Civic Gardens
Parrsboro thrived in the mid 19th century as the hub of a string of shipbuilding communities from Economy to Advocate collectively known as the “Parrsboro Shore”. The town became a port of registry in 1850 for over 115 locally built schooners as well as giant square riggers, culminating in the largest, the ship Glooscap in 1891. In its peak years of the 1890s, over 1646 ships arrived and departed annually.
The Springhill and Parrsboro Railway began service to the town from the coal mining town of Springhill on July 1, 1877; Parrsboro became a coal shipping port for the Springhill mines, primarily serving Saint John, New Brunswick. Railway service to Parrsboro was abandoned on June 14, 1958, following several years of declining shipments, several months before the 1958 mining disaster.
Throughout the late 19th century and first four decades of the twentieth century, Parrsboro saw daily ferry service across the Minas Basin to the Annapolis Valley ports of Kingsport and Wolfville. The 13th and final vessel in this service, operated by the Dominion Atlantic Railway, was the MV Kipawo, which is now permanently beached at Parrsboro and incorporated into the Ship’s Company Theatre performance centre.
A Handley Page V/1500 named Atlantic made a forced landing in Parrsboro July 5, 1919. When the starboard engine failed the pilot, MajorBrackley saw the lights of the town during the night and landed. After three months, the aircraft was repaired and departed for Greenport, New York, Parrsboro’s sister town. The local Air Cadet Squadron, 689 Handley Page, is named after this event.
Located on the Bay of Fundy, Parrsboro is the ideal place to explore and experience the rise and fall of the world’s highest tides.
The lighthouse view overlooking the harbour is one of the best in the province and showcases both the horizontal and vertical extremes of the impressive Fundy tides. In addition to the view, the Parrsboro area is the most significant place on earth for harnessing tidal energy.
The Fundy tides are not the only big deal in town. Parrsboro is where Canada’s oldest dinosaurs once roamed! The Fundy Geological Museum shares the area’s rich 350-million-year history of fossils, stones and dinosaur bones with exhibits and guided beach tours.
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