Photos
are following the text. You
are invited to submit any pictures that you may have of early Summerville.
E
mail me by clicking here.
Summerville was first settled in 1784 by Captain
John Grant.
He was a battle-scarred United Empire Loyalist
who came originally from Strathspray, Scotland.
His land grand was 3000 acres but was soon
divided into 9 lots and sold to various people.
Captain John Grant died in Summerville in 1792
at the age of 64.
Prior to John Grant settling this area there
is some evidence of Acadians living in the area.
The Grant homestead was on what now is called
Loyal Hill. The Grant family kept control of most of this land for almost
100 years.
Michael Bergen Grant, the great grandson of
John Grant bought the property at a public auction in 1866.
Shortly after that he established a gypsum
quarry and a repair wharf. However in 1877 he leased this land
to Daniel Hobart of Dennysville Maine and Edward
Dimock of Windsor Nova Scotia. In later years these two gained full control
of
the land.
Daniel Hobart was the US Consul for the town
of Windsor and Edward Dimock was already well established in the gypsum
business in the Windsor area. Daniel Hobart kept control of this property
until 1888 when it was sold. It appeared that Daniel was suffering financial
losses.
This could have been because the easy to reach
gypsum at the quarry was becoming hard to find and it would take a great
deal of money to dig the remaining gypsum from the quarry. The wooden ship
repair business was also in decline at this time.
The land has gone through quite a few hands
since this time.
These original nine properties have since been
subdivided into many smaller lots as we know the area today.
Many of the ancestors of the first owners are
still living in the area.
Shipbuilding was another important industry
of the area in the mid 1800's. Captain George Armstrong being the principal
builder. His shipyard was located next to what became the government wharf.
Once the area became established as a community
it was know as Black Rock because of a rock just off shore from the place
where the government wharf was to be built.
During the mid 19th century the principal means
of outside transportation was by water.
Summerville was the terminus for many ferries.
The earliest of these were row boats only went across the Avon River to
Hantsport where rail connections could be made.
Later ones sailed to Windsor with stops on
the way at Card's Beach, Burlington and Newport Landing.
The Musgrove family was involved in this from
of transport for many years. There best know ferry being the Maggie Van.
Around 1880 the Avon River Steam Ferries began.
The first being the 15 ton Pinafore. In 1888
the Pinafore was followed by the much larger Avon which had a registered
weight of 45 tons.
In 1910 the Avon was replaced by the best know
ferry of this area , the Rotundus with a registered weight of 66 tons.
She served the area for 27 years.
At this time road transportation made replacing
her impractical.
The early residents of Summerville recognized
the importance of a education. The first school was built in 1853. This school served the community until around
1871 when a new building was erected. The third school was built in 1883 and this
building is still standing. It was as a school until 1966 when the Dr.
Arthur Hines School was built. After many modifications it is now the
Summerville Volunteer Fire Dept. fire station and hall.
Before you begin I want to mention that
I have been told that some of the pictures on my pages aren't loading
properly. If this should happen to you just right click
on the area where the picture is supposed to be and select "Show
Picture". I am trying to find the cause of this problem
and hope to have it solved soon. I have been told by the support team of my
hosting service that this problem is a fault of MSIE and that we will have to
live with it. I have been trying to acquire some old pictures
of Summerville as it used to be and I was rewarded for my efforts. Thanks to Cyril Marsters of Summerville I
now have a few pictures to add. I hope there will be many more to follow
Luella (Mrs. LeRoy) Sanford with Stanton
Sanford and her youngest daughter, Hilda Conway This picture was taken on Mrs. Sanford's 104th
birthday.
Nova Scotia's Oldest Citizen Passes Away at
111 SANFORD, Luella Mary - lll, White Roc Kings
Co., formerly of Summerville, Hants Co., passed away June 15, 2000,
at home. Born May 18, 1889 in Upper Canard, she has a daughter of the late James and- Melissa (Lynch) MacRae. She graduated
from the Wolfville High School in 1905 and the Provincial Normal College in l911 and was
thought to be the oldest living graduate of both institutions. She taught
school in Nova Scotia and Manitoba. She married Lerov Sanford in 1914 and
lived on the family farm until she was I02 when she went to live with her
daughter in White Rock. She was a member of the Kempt United Baptist Church
in Sunmewllle. Surviving are her daughters Helen McDonough of Falmouth; Annabelle Pick
of White Rock; sons, Stanton (Jaqueline) Terence "Ted" (Florence), all
of Summerville. Charles Francis "Frank" (Jean) of Maitland, Hants
Co.; son in law, James Conwav of Windsor; daughter in law, Violet Sanford
of Halifax; numerous grandchildren. great grandchildren and
great great chillier. She was predecease by her husband, Leroy,
daughter, Hilda Conway; son, Alfred: Brothers Alfred, Stanton, Normin and Allister; sisters
Bertha Bonner, Alice Simkin, Helen and Hildi MacRae; three grandchildren;
several half sisters and brothers. No visitation bv request. Funeral service 2:30 p.m. Sunday June 18 in
Kempt United Baptist Church, Summerville, Hants Co., Rev. Garnet Parker
officiating and assisted by Rev. Fran Woodside. Private family committal
service in Loyal Hill Cemetery, Summerville. Donations may be made to Kempt
United Baptist Church Summerville, V.O.N., Kings Branch or a charity of
your choice. Arrangements entrusted to J. Wilson Allen
Funeral Home, Summerville.
The Loyal Hill United Baptist
Church Built in 1862 and was torn down
in 1969 when the United Church in Summerville was acquired. This church was later replaced
with a new church
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Summerville
area was served for many years by
three different steam ferries
These ships were
the S.S. Pinafore, the S.S Avon and
the S.S. Rotundus
The Rotundus probably
being the best known and
served the area the longest
S.S. Avon
Although some thought she was
an unstable craft she sailed the Summerville to Windsor run from 1888 to
1910 when she was replaced by the
S.S. Rotundus
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Rotundus Arrives
Captain Charles Terfry and Captain Frederick A. Marsters
was the mate
Thanks to Cyril Masters
S.S. Rotundus Sailed from Summerville to Windsor daily in season from 1910 to
1935
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Rotundus laying at the Summerville Government Wharf
at low water
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Rotundus laying at the Summerville Government Wharf
at low water. The S.S. Avon is seen at the
head of the wharf. The Avon sailed the Summerville
to Windsor run until 1910.
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Rotundus's sailing schedule. There was no room for error
because of the extremely high tides on the
Avon River raising to almost 50 feet on
a spring tide
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The end of an era
Thanks to Cyril Masters
Summerville Government Wharf
Thanks to Cyril Masters
This is an interesting old house.
It is located in Kempt, the next community up the shore but was at one
time the freight shed on the end
of the Summerville Wharf. It was in a number of different
locations before it was placed here. It can be seen at the end of
the wharf in the picture above
One of many sailing schooners
that were stripped and converted to gypsum barges tied to the Block (Hobart) Wharf.
Many of these were left abandoned
on the nearby beach when the quarry closed
down Their remains can still be seen
today
Summerville in it's prime had
two very active wharfs
Thanks to Cyril Masters
Ship repair was a good business
in Summerville. Caulking a ship at Hobart's
Wharf around 1909
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Avon House
This building was the first hotel
in Summerville. It was owned and run by Leonard
Marsters. There was an old warehouse located
near the shipyard where he worked. He didn't like to eat cold lunches
and since the warehouse had a stove, he bought it. This was around 1870. Soon others figured he
had a good idea. From that point it developed
into a hotel and dining room. He ran the Avon House until
1915 when he sold it to Earl Lake. It burned to the ground around
1920. All that remains of it today
is the concrete front step.
Big Creek as it was many years
ago
Thanks to Cyril Masters
The Ogilvie Homestead, Summerville Built by Samuel Nunn in 1835
and removed in 1985
Thanks to Sharon Ogilvie
Hobart's Quarry today. This once was a very busy place. Gypsum was mined from the Grant
property from around 1800 to well into
the next century. The gypsum was taken from here
to the nearby wharf via a tunnel that ran
under the road.
These are the remains of the
old sailing vessels (Hamburg) that were converted
to gypsum barges and later abandoned on the beach
near the Hobart Wharf.
Thanks to Mark Kean
It's hard to believe that these
were once grand sailing vessels that sailed
the world over.
Thanks to Mark Kean
I want to thank Mark Kean for
these pictures.
He is formally of Kempt Shore and
has been living
in Thunder Bay ON for the past
25 years.
These next three pictures were
taken of the old ship hulls in 1981. As you can see there is much
more of them visible at that time.
Thanks to Mark Kean
Thanks to Mark Kean
Thanks to Mark Kean
This picture was sent to me
by George Fuller of Winnipeg The picture is of his father
taken in front of my home on Marsters Road around the 1930's. George Fuller is the great,
great grand son of Richard Card, born 1810, and he lived in Summerville.
Thanks to George Fuller
The oldest boy is George's father
(Mike) the youngest is Malcolm, and the other is George (all Fuller's).
Capt. Ralph Fuller taken in
1928. At this time Capt. Fuller lived
in Our
house in Summerville from 1921 to 1937.
Thanks to George Fuller
After living in Summerville
from 1921 to 1937 Capt. Fuller moved to this house
across the river in Hantsport
Thanks to George Fuller
This picture was taken in 1956
by George Fuller and shows the Fuller House in Hantsport
with Summerville in the background.
Thanks to George Fuller
The home of Capt. Thomas A.
Card's son Douglas Taken in 1952 This house is still standing
and Anita Card still lives there.
Thanks to Pauline Sanford
Pauline Card (Sanford) taken
in fron t of the above house. This picture waa taken in 1952. Pauline is the grand daughter
of Capt. Thomas Card
Thanks to Pauline Sanford
Everett Burgess standing
along side Thomas Card, son of Abigail (Annie) Card
and William Burgess.
This picture was submitted by Terre Schlagel of Elk Grove,
CA
This post card to George Fuller
was submitted by Barbara Gosse of Illinois, The
sender is Ralph Fuller, Feb. 18, 1909. This was sent
to her Gr.Gr.Gr. Grandmother, Abigail A.(Card) Burgess, in
1909, when she was out in California visiting her daughter Manetta.
Terre Schlagel of Elk Grove,
CA also sent me a copy of the same post card.
Thanks to Jim Ward President Stanley Sport Aviation Association.
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
This series of pictures of the air crash was submitted by Janine Legere
and are from the
Edith Mosher collection, They were edits by George Fuller, Winnipeg
MN.
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
Click on this image for a larger view in a new window
This picture was submitted by George W Fuller, Winnipeg These girls were the daughters of Capt. Charles Jerimiah
Card, and they are Georg's 1st cousins from Summerville. He believe that
Robina was married to Warren E. HARVEY of Summerville, and they both may
be burried in Summerville.
