Along the western shore

The weather this week has been sunny and mild, so today I went for a walk along the western shore, south of the cove.
I looked at old foundations of houses that once were along that shore. You can take a look at the A.F. Church Map of 1882 to see the names of six families who lived along here then.

I surprised the flock of sheep that lives down that way.

They decided to melt away into the woods, where they imagined they had become invisible.
One open area is defined by five big piles of rocks. They were cleared out of the ground to make a field long ago. They were thrown into piles on top of boulders that were too big to move. But the ground is still filled with rocks. There are several foundations along this shore. It was a good location for fishermen. They had no commute at all to get to work, since the fish were in their front yard. But it would have been a harsh place to live in winter, so exposed to ocean winds and storms.
Eventually I came to Sloop Rock, a conspicuous boulder about twenty feet high.
Soon after that the shore line turns toward the east, and the lighthouse is revealed, across a marsh.
It is always a joy to see Cape Roseway Light.

As I walked home in the dimming light, the hackmatack glowed golden -- the last of the trees to give up its autumn colour.

Exploring local history

My search for more about the history of McNutt's Island took me to The Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society. It's above the fire station and the offices of the Shelburne Town Hall, on Water Street.Inside is a large and comfortable space, with plenty of room to work. During the summer the archive is open all week, but after that it's only open on Wednesdays.
It is a repository of primary and secondary sources. It would take many Wednesdays to become familiar with all that is here.

The SCA & GS has published a veritable library of excellent local history resources, which can be ordered through its online bookstore. Most recent publications include the transcription of Captain William Booth's Remarks and Rough Memorandums, a fascinating, often snarky, diary of life in the tumultuous days of Shelburne's beginnings; and Founders of Shelburne, an impressive summary of what's known about more than two hundred early Shelburnians who remained here after the Loyalist tsunami receded.
Kim Robertson Walker is the genealogical society's archivist, and encourager in chief. One Wednesday when Kim was in Halifax I was helped by two knowledgable and dedicated volunteers, Wally Buchanan and Laura Nicoll. On another Wednesday Kim took phone calls from people all over Canada and the U.S. who were seeking information about their ancestors.

As Wally explained to me, when ten thousand people pass through a place in a brief time, it means that two centuries later there are lots of far-flung descendants curious about that chapter in their ancestors' lives.

Dock Street, Shelburne on an autumn afternoon

I was waiting for the Shelburne Museum to re-open one afternoon last week, so I walked down Dock Street and took some pictures. Shelburne really does have a lovely Historic District. Dock Street is several blocks long, and runs parallel to the harbour.
Shelburne didn't even exist until ten thousand or so refugees arrived here in 1783/1784. There was nothing at Port Roseway before then except a few settlers here and there, eking out a living in this wilderness.
A decade after it was founded, Shelburne's population had fallen from more than ten thousand to three or four hundred people. There are several good explanations for Shelburne's rapid decline, and it isn't necessary to choose just one of them. They all played their part.*
Visitors in the early 1800s told of grass and stumps left in the streets and livestock wandering through the remains of empty houses.
The people who stayed, though, made a life for themselves. They grew vegetables in their garden plots.
They built ships. They fished.
It's hard to realize how quickly Shelburne was built, from nothing, in a few years, and then how quickly the town emptied out.
It became a village, in the midst of the forlorn remnants of its brief glory.
What remains today is a serene beauty.

* You can read the story in Stephen Kimber's Loyalists and Layabouts: The Rapid Rise and Faster Fall of Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783-1792 (Doubleday Canada, 2008).