More than a Small Town

Place Names Port Hawkesbury Cape Breton Island Gulf of St. Lawrence Strait of Canso Nova Scotia North America Point Tupper Richmond County Antigonish

When is a small town more than a small town? The answer to this question is “when that town is Port Hawkesbury.”

Towns and cities often start to grow because of their location, or where they are. This was true when settlers came to Cape Breton Island in the early 1800s. Port Hawkesbury was close to the good fishing grounds of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Hundreds of American fishing ships had to stop there for supplies and repairs. Port Hawkesbury is also on the Strait of Canso. It is the part of Cape Breton Island that is closest to the rest of Nova Scotia, so a ferry service was soon placed there. These two things made enough jobs for a small town.

Port Hawkesbury has the best deep water, ice-free harbour on the east coast of North America.