Rail services were abandoned to Yarmouth in stages, beginning in 1982 (CNR) and ending in 1990 (CPR). While iron-hulled steamships had led to the decline of Yarmouth's once-thriving wooden shipbuilding industry, they also made the port a vital connection between Nova Scotia's rail lines and steamships destined for Boston and New York. The Halifax and Southwestern Railway was built along the south shore linking Yarmouth with Shelburne, Liverpool, Bridgewater and Halifax in the early 20th century the H&SW was eventually merged into the Canadian National Railway (CNR). It eventually was merged into the Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR), with a network extending into the Annapolis Valley, Halifax and Truro the DAR later became a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The town's first railway was the locally owned Western Counties Railway which was built from Yarmouth to Digby in the 1870s. Railways Yarmouth's waterfront circa 1910 showing the railway and steamship connections which emerged in the late 19th century.Īs wooden shipbuilding declined in the late 19th century, Yarmouth's shipowners re-invested their capital into factories, iron-hulled steamships, and railways. The town of Yarmouth was incorporated on August 6, 1890. Patch never received money or recognition and died a poor man at Yarmouth in 1861. However, by 1849 there were multiple competing versions of the screw propeller. First demonstrated in Yarmouth Harbour during the summer of 1833, Patch was unsuccessful in a patent application in that year, but he continued to improve his propeller and received an American patent in 1849 which drew praise in American scientific circles.

John Patch, the son of a Yarmouth sea captain, developed and built one of the first modern screw propeller driven ships in 1832 (4 years before John Ericsson's patent). Yarmouth ships were found in most major ports throughout the world at this time, including ships noted for courageous crews such as the ship Research in 1861 and ships noted for great size such as the ship County of Yarmouth in 1884, one of the largest wooden hull ships ever built in Canada. In 1878, Yarmouth's tonnage peaked at 453 vessels aggregating 166,623 tons, and in 1879, the town had the second largest registered tonnage in Canada. From 1874 to 1885, Yarmouth was the second largest port of registry in Canada following Saint John, New Brunswick. Through the 19th century, the town was a major shipbuilding centre, at one point boasting more registered tonnage per capita than any other port in the world. Shipbuilding House flags of Yarmouth shipping companies and ship portraits at the Yarmouth County Museum View of Yarmouth from Milton, Nova Scotia, by Sarah Bond Farish, 1829. Despite the American privateer raids in the Raid on Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (1775), the inhabitants still sheltered American prisoners after the Battle off Yarmouth (1777).Īfter the American Revolution, substantial numbers of United Empire Loyalists arrived in 1785. There were a number of inhabitants of Yarmouth who supported the American patriots. Following the war, Acadians originally from the Grand-Pré district who returned from exile in 1767 settled in the Yarmouth area. During the American Revolution, some in Yarmouth were sympathetic to the rebellion. The ship carried the families of Sealed Landers, Ebenezer Ellis, and Moses Perry. Yarmouth was founded on June 9, 1761, when a ship carrying three families arrived from Sandwich, Massachusetts. During the Seven Years' War, New England Planters settled at what is now the town of Yarmouth in 1759 the grantees were from Yarmouth, Massachusetts and they requested that Yarmouth be named after their former home. They set up a small fishing settlement known as 'Tebouque' in the mid 1600s and by 1750 the population was 50 people. The region was visited in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain, who named it 'Cap-Fourchu', meaning 'forked or cloven cape.' The first Europeans to make a settlement on these shores were the French Acadians. Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the region was known as 'Keespongwitk' meaning 'Lands End' due to its position at the tip of the Nova Scotia peninsula. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. A port town, its industries include fishing and tourism. Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada.

Catamaran sea battle