History

In 2022 the New Harbour River Restoration Association was formed. This action came, as a result of a series of largely attended community meetings, where the unhealthy signs of the river were discussed at great length. The New Harbour River Restoration Association is at work to prevent, monitor, and reduce the threats within our river and watershed. We want to evaluate our stream systems while considering the needs of human communities around them, and implement projects that will help streams regain their balance. This will improve our wildlife habitat, water quality and erosion resilience.

It is through this Association that we can begin to have new hope that the river will be restored to better health and a source of sustenance and pride for future generations.

Like all places beautiful far and wide, New Harbour River has its own unique and interesting history. There are facts and stories from its first Indigenous residents, to the families that came from away to settle on its shores, to its original and current name. New Harbour is rich in history and the river has sustained the community for many years. The history is a testament as to why it is imperative the association and community work to restore the river to its former glory.

In the Beginning

Legend tells us that in approximately 1805 a man from the Guysborough area, cutting barrel hoop poles, discovered the New Harbour River. He spent the night on one of the river’s islands before returning to the Guysborough-Manchester area. His description of the abundance of fish and river wildlife was so convincing that within the next couple of years several families moved to New Harbour and built homes along its riverbanks. By 1817 a permanent community had been established. The river was named after the first child born in the new community. A map from 1864 names it, Catherine’s River. Sometime later “Saint” was added, and as late as the 1960s it was well known as, St. Catherine’s River. The name was later changed to New Harbour River by the government. It is thought that Indigenous people stayed at New Harbour prior to 1805 so there may have been another name for this beautiful river that has been lost.

Early stories describe the river as the roadway for the community. Houses, barns and outbuildings dotted the beautiful riverbanks. In the winter seasons, horses pulled firewood to many properties, down the frozen river. Children skated or walked to school over the frozen river in winter months to shorten their distance, while enjoying the beauty. Practically every household owned a row boat as a means of transportation and as part of providing fish for their families. In the Spring fishers moved their families and their belongings from their winter homes “up the river” to fishing shanties “down at the harbour”. In the Spring, people herded their cattle “up the brook” leaving them to pasture on the plentiful greenery far up at the head of the river. People fished in the river, trapped furs on the river, picked berries along the riverbanks, and drank the water from the river’s brooks. They built hunting and fishing camps on Ocean Lake which feeds into the New Harbour River. The “upper bridge” was built at the river’s neck in 1888. The “lower bridge” was built in 1902 and rebuilt in 1933. It is not clear whether the 1902 bridge was in the same location as the 1933 bridge that crosses the channel from the river into the ocean.

River Wildlife

An excerpt from a poem written about the river in the early 1900s says:

Many fishes abound
In your waters so blue
Salmon, trout, perch and eels
And also smelt too.
(Author: Mrs. Beulah Webber)

Bass, clams, mussels, cohogs, and gaspereaux have swam its waters. Raccoons, minks, muskrats, beavers, and otters have lived on its banks. Deer, coyotes, foxes and bobcats have crossed it. In January 2023 a deer was spotted swimming to one of the islands. A large flock of Cormorants live in the trees overhanging the river, while crows and gulls can be spotted daily. Geese, ducks and cranes are still plentiful in 2023. Hawks and eagles can be spotted on a regular basis, with nesting along the riverbanks within the treetops. In New Harbour, the call of the loon is as common as, a rose colored sunset on a summers evening. In the summer of 2022 a lone wood stork explored the river marshes, and birdwatchers from all over Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada, travelled to New Harbour in search of it.

During the 1930s trout were so plentiful that it was common to go “down to the channel” with nothing but a pole, a line and a hook (no bait) and bring home enough trout for the whole family for supper. In the 1970s salmon fishing was very popular. Salmon fishermen waded up and down the channel, and cars lined up to watch them at their sport. In the 1980s-90s bass fishing provided another form of sport. Even today, smelt fishers can be seen practicing their craft.

Livelihoods

Sawmills were established on the river as early as 1867. In the early 1920s there were four sawmills. The Upper Mill Brook is named for the saw and shingle mill established there by the Gillie Family. Fenwick and Tupper Luddington had a sawmill and shingle mill. George and Avard Luddington had a shingle mill by the neck of the river. The Wright Family had a sawmill on another Mill Brook on the East side of the river. Logs were floated down the river to the sawmill.

Boat building was very common and local histories detail accounts of boats being built, named, and floated down the river until they reached the harbour. In more recent years this launching ceased because of river landscape changes.
Ice Blocks were another form of revenue derived from the river. Since there was no electricity in the community until after World War Two, fishermen had to find a way to preserve their fish. John George Sangster and his son Dean had an “ice house” on the banks of the river now accessed by Sangster Road. The ice blocks were cut from the river when they were 2 x 2 x 2 feet. They were sold to the Store, wharf, and fox farmers. Drum Head wharf staff also cut blocks of ice from the cove on the upper west side of the river.

In the early years, fur trapping was common. In the 1970s schoolkids could earn a few dollars trapping eels or digging clams. In the 1990s clams were commercially harvested at the mouth of the river for a couple of years.

Recreation

Although the river’s first attractions were a source of food for settlers, it quickly became a source of great pleasure and tranquility for hundreds, if not thousands, of residents and visitors. The first houses have been replaced by newer, homes, cottages, trailers and camps today. Riverfront real estate is eagerly sought out and quickly purchased. Summer population growth to this community in the past five years has been exponential. Water skiing and swimming are popular. There are numerous pleasure boats and the rickety little slipways have been replaced by sturdy docks, and decks. Since 2017, an annual Boat Rally has grown significantly, bringing participants from all over Nova Scotia and beyond. It is a major fundraiser for the Harbourview Community Centre.

Skating and sledding are far less common because those sports have been replaced by snowmobiling and all terrain vehicles. The Ocean Lake Riders, a thriving all terrain vehicle club, have built trails and bridges crossing the brooks and lakes that feed into the river. A beautiful and well-maintained ATV shelter was built on Ocean Lake in the early 2000s. The trails leading to this shelter connect with the TransCanada Trail.

Concerns That Require Solutions

Our beautiful river is not without its problems. It has suffered the strains of climate change, erosion and pollution.

Many fish have been significantly diminished. The once plentiful salmon have almost disappeared.

Green crabs have invaded and may be further upsetting the traditional river inhabitants.
Insect pests are almost unbearable at times.

Alga, moss and biofilm interfere with boating and swimming activities. Brown decay is floating to the surface.

There is too much visible and hidden garbage.

People are very concerned about the PH levels of the river.

Several property owners are worried about the erosion edging close to their homes and cottages.

People are talking about the bad odour that is spreading further up the river each year.

Community Action

In 2022 the New Harbour River Restoration Association was formed. This action came, as a result of a series of largely attended community meetings, where the unhealthy signs of the river were discussed at great length. It is through this Association that we can begin to have new hope that the river will be restored to better health and a source of sustenance and pride for future generations.