Annapolis Heritage Society
136 St George Street B0S 1A0 Annapolis Royal, NS, Canada

A MESSAGE FROM AHS BOARD PRESIDENT HERB ANDERSON - Along with people all across Canada, and particularly those of us who call Nova Scotia home, we grieve the loss of so many of our fellow citizens through the senseless violence that occurred this past weekend. The feelings of loss and bewilderment that people are experiencing are such that Nova Scotia has lost much of its innocence by the actions of one very troubled individual. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Staff, and the Membership of the Annapolis Heritage Society, we offer our condolences to all those families and friends that have been directly affected by this tragic series of events.

ANNOUNCEMENT Our new Facebook page, ANNAPOLIS HERITAGE SOCIETY: MAKING CONNECTIONS, will be launched WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22nd, at 2 pm. This current page will still exist for the time-being, but we will no longer be posting to it after the 22nd. So be sure to join the new page so you can continue to be a valued member of the community of AHS followers - or become a new member. You'll still see items of historical interest, but there will be new content as well . . . we think you'll be pleased. Especially during this time when we can't be together physically, it's doubly important to be connected in other ways. This is our attempt to bring our collective heritage to you. We encourage feedback and always welcome suggestions for content.

FROM THE DAYS OF LUMBER CAMPS - For something different and a change of location, here's a crew at a Round Hill lumber camp owned by Will Ramsay of West Dalhousie, in the spring of 1902. It is taken from Ian Lawrence's book, "Historic Annapolis Royal: Images of our Past". Thankfully, the names of most of the men are included. Front row, L-R: Will Wood (cook), Henry Fox, unknown, Frank Blackadar, unknown. Middle row, L-R: Will Sanford, Frank Potter, "Gus" Fraser, Lou Thibo...deau. Back row, L-R: Will Spurr, Will Forcey, "Bub" Fraser, Will Ramsay (with beard), Frank Fairn, Fred Ramsay, George Ramsay. The Ramsays, Will Spurr, Will Wood, & Will Forcey were all from the West Dalhousie, Perotte, Lake LaRose area, but the Fraser brothers and Will Sanford were from Frasertown, Frank Blackadar from Bear River East, Frank Potter either from Clementsvale or Guinea, and Lou Thibodeau from Birchtown at the time. Henry Fox supposedly didn't move here from England until around 1906, so the photo may be mis-dated. Frank Fairn is the only one who was from Round Hill. Will Sanford would go on to become the boss carpenter for the reconstruction of the Officers' Barracks at Fort Anne in 1935. "Bub" (Ainsley) Fraser with his family went west to homestead in Saskatchewan like many did from the area in the 1910s. See more

REQUEST FOR RESUMES FOR SUMMER EMPLOYMENT - Please share the following notice.

WHO KNEW?? A hundred years ago, thousands of barrels of apples used to be shipped out of Annapolis Royal every year. They'd be brought into town from area orchards by rail car, and stored in apple warehouses until it was time to ship them out from the wharf near the end of Chapel Street, many heading for London, England. The biggest warehouse used to stand on Chapel Street, across from the RC cemetery. It was made of brick, with a deep frost-proof basement, 150 x 100 feet... in size. A railway spur went past the rear of the warehouse for delivery of the apples. Then in 1919 a 2-story wooden evaporator or 'drying house' was built in front of the warehouse, for drying apples for shipping. In its heyday it employed nearly 100 men and women, according to newspaper accounts. It seems the business came to and end soon after the stock market crash, and the buildings were eventually torn down in 1937. The only signs of the warehouse today are the large hole among the trees and some of the rocks of the basement walls. Click on photos for descriptions. See more

MOVED HOUSES SERIES No. 14 - According to Charlotte Perkins (from her little book "The Romance of Old Annapolis Royal"), this house at the foot of St Anthony Street in Annapolis Royal was the Ichabod Corbitt house, which was moved to make way for the railway to be built. Ichabod Corbitt was an early schoolmaster in the town. It very well could have been his house, as in 1867 the W&R Railway bought two houses, owned at the time by Ichabod's son James Edward Corbitt, that had to be moved. Note: This ends the series of 'Moved Houses" unless there are others we have missed??

EASTER GREETINGS TO ALL - This ad appeared in The Annapolis Royal Spectator of April 11, 1935. Apparently swagger coats and suits were popular in those days. One feature of the style was a full back to the coat or suit jacket.

NEWS FOR OUR FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS ON THIS PAGE We are almost ready to launch a new Facebook page called Annapolis Heritage Society: Making Connections. We have made significant changes in our organization over the past year, including taking a serious look at how we can improve our connection to the wider community. One obvious way is through better use of social media, which is why we made the decision to create a new Facebook page that would appeal to a wider audience.... All three of our museum sites will be featured on the new page, and more people will be involved in creating content. We want to pique your curiosity about the thousands of items in our collections. We want you to know how elated people are when they make significant discoveries about their families in our Genealogy Centre. We want to create opportunities for children to make connections to our heritage so they will value it and ‘pass it on’ to future generations. In short, we want to create a livelier and more intriguing page. And, of course, exhibits, events and activities associated with any of our locations will be showcased on the page. Once the new page is launched, we will no longer be posting to the current page (but it will be maintained for the time being for reference). Items of historical interest will continue to be posted to the new page, but you will begin to see a greater variety of items, especially when the Sinclair Inn and North Hills Museums are able to open for the season. (Obviously, this year, much depends on when the public health measures in place during the pandemic can be relaxed.) We will announce here when the new page has been put online. We trust that you will follow it as devotedly as you have the current page. We are delighted with the interest shown to date thank you for that - and hope you will find Annapolis Heritage Society: Making Connections even more to your liking. And for those who prefer it Instagram is coming soon, which will be linked to the new Facebook page. Feedback and suggestions for content are always welcome. See more

VIMY RIDGE DAY - Today, April 9th, is the 103rd anniversary of the day that Canadian soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Killed in action on that day in 1917 from our area: Pte Eugene T Gallagher, 26, of Lequille; Capt Walter Willet Pickup, 24, of Granville Ferry; Sgt John Bernard Harris, 26, of Bear River; Pte Eldon LeRoy Morine, 28, of Bear River; Pte Frederick Clayton Barteaux, 31, of Moschelle; Pte Stanley W Peters, 21, b. Bear River; Pte Ha...rry H Robblee, 28, Lower Granville. Wounded on that day: Pte Walter S Dunn, 25, Princedale (severely wounded); Pte Kenneth L Oliver, 22, Granville Ferry; Pte. Rex R Shaw, 30, Round Hill; Pte Charles A Spears, 24, Lequille; Pte Clifford Symes, 21, Litchfield; and Pte James Whitman, 25, Round Hill. (Painting: The Battle of Vimy Ridge, Library & Archives, Canada, credit: Richard Jack) See more

MOVING HOUSE SERIES No. 13 - This building didn't go far - it was originally around the corner on Church Street. "Annapolis Spectator, Friday, October 13, 1899: GS Bishop has moved his American Dining Hall from Railway to the former vacant lot between HA West’s and post office which was purchased by him. The Messrs Rice of Bear River moved the building. The present site of this popular restaurant is more convenient for the public, and is one of the finest stands in town. (The spot on St George Street was vacant because of an earlier fire!) This building became Frost's restaurant in 1922, then later Cornwallis Pharmacy in 1949.

MOVING HOUSES SERIES No. 12 - This house, likely over 200 years old, sits on the corner of St Anthony Street and Drury Lane in Annapolis Royal. It is another one that was moved to make way for the railway to be built out to the town wharf in the late 1860s. At that time the house was owned by Anne Cross, a daughter of William Cross who may have built the original structure. According to Calnek's History of the County of Annapolis (1897), "he [William] married Ann, daughter... of the first Andrew Ritchie, and died August, 1834, aged 83, leaving three daughters, two maiden ladies and one Mrs. Fletcher . . . and these ladies long lived in what is known as 'the Cross House,' still standing on the corner of St. Anthony and Drury Streets, repositories of much historical and traditionary lore which they were always glad to communicate." Anne died January 22, 1882, age 88, and was buried in the Garrison Graveyard. The house has been in the family of the present owner for nearly 100 years. See more

MOVING HOUSES SERIES No. 11 - Here's one we just learned about. According to the notes of the late Dale Young of Deep Brook, a Charles Sulis of Deep Brook had a house that was moved to Annapolis Royal and used as a boarding house for shipyard workers, near the old railway station. There's a strong possibility that this building was situated across from the present Independent store on St Anthony Street. Lawrence Delap owned the property here when the Delap shipyard was in operation (it started in 1873), and the 1881 Annapolis Royal census lists several ship carpenters, with their families, living at this location. The following is a detail of the 1878 Bird's Eye View map of the town; the '10' marks the ship yard & the mill. The 'boarding house' could be the large building on what was then called Lawrence Street.

The Herbert & Beeler Garage on St George Street in Annapolis Royal, decked out for Dominion Day in 1927. Built in late 1921, according to an account in the Spectator, the garage sported "a five gallon stroke pump for expeditious service of gasoline, the only one between Kentville and Yarmouth. Upstairs there are 2 dwellings which have already been occupied by the respective proprietors, AB Herbert and HC Beeler, the latter of whom has moved in from Lequille and joined partnership with Mr Herbert who lost both home and shop in the big fire of Sept 7." In 1964 the building was bought by George Parker who had acquired the Lewis Transfer business. In 1980 the Gartlands bought it and opened Newman's Restaurant there.

GROWING YOUR FAMILY TREE - We mustn't forget that this area used to be Port Royal, so there are innumerable descendants scattered far and wide of the Acadians who settled up and down the shores of the Annapolis River. Seven vessels sailed from Annapolis Royal on the morning of December 8, 1755, carrying 1664 men, women and children into exile: the Helena to Boston; the Edward & the Two Sisters to Connecticut; the Experiment to New York; the Hopson and a small schooner to Sou...th Carolina; and the Pembroke, destined for North Carolina. (The Acadians on the Pembroke managed to gain control of the ship and sail it up the St John River in New Brunswick.) For those of Acadian ancestry, here's a list of online genealogy resources: https://www.genealogysearch.org/canada/acadian.html And don't forget, the Research & Genealogy Centre at the O'Dell House Museum has an extensive Acadian collection. Check our website at www.annapolisheritage.com for a long list of our Acadian records. See more