Shipbuilding in Nova Scotia National Historic Event

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
East Elevation, Joseph McGill Shipbuilding and Transportation Company Office © Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
Joseph McGill Shipbuilding and Transportation Co.
© Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
East Elevation, Joseph McGill Shipbuilding and Transportation Company Office © Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004Yarmouth Harbour, 1871 © Yarmouth County Historical Society)View of the HSMBC plaque © Parks Canada / Parcs Canada, 1989
Address : corner of Main and Marshall Streets, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Recognition Statute: Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date: 1960-05-30

Other Name(s):
  • Shipbuilding in Nova Scotia  (Designation Name)

Importance: This industry grew as settlement did in the 18th-century

Plaque(s)


Existing plaque:  corner of Main and Marshall Streets, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

From its early beginnings on Cape Breton Island the shipbuilding industry grew as settlement did in the 18th century. During the Golden Age of Sail in the 19th century, thousands of wooden vessels of all sizes were built in bays and harbours along the coast and Nova Scotian ships and men won fame on the Seven Seas. By 1870, even though steam was already replacing sail, Canada, led by Nova Scotia, still ranked fourth among ship-owning countries. The happy combination of master builders and superb sailors was nowhere better typified than in the port of Yarmouth.