Change Comes

However, things started to change after thousands of immigrants came to Cape Breton from Scotland. For one thing, the Scots opened up other parts of Cape Breton Island. They did very well in Inverness County where the soil was fertile and good for agriculture.

Other people were moving to Eastern Cape Breton Island, near what is now Glace Bay, to work in coal mines and to fish. Soon there were more people living in Inverness and in Eastern Cape Breton Island than in Richmond County.

At that time, coal, fish, and other goods from Cape Breton Island were carried to other places on ships. The St. Peter’s Canal was built in 1869 so these ships could leave the Bras d’Or Lakes at St. Peter’s. This would be a much shorter route than going out through the Great Bras d’Or Lake. The canal was built to keep St. Peter’s and Arichat in the centre of the boat traffic that carried goods between Cape Breton Island and other places. If they were at the centre of boat traffic, then businesses would open there and more people would come.

Communities Get Smaller

However, that never happened. By 1891, a railway was built that carried goods over the Strait of Canso without going near St. Peter’s or Arichat. And even though the locks in the canal were made larger, they still weren’t big enough for the huge new ships that were being built.