437:. ‘River John’ has a name of French origin but the English named the river Deception River, although this name has been lost and is used only by very few elderly residents. The name ‘River John’ came to be as almost all of the original settlers had the name John; John George, John Patriquin, etc. The name River John is a beautiful and euphonious name that isn't as well known as it deserves, because of the hundreds of vessels built and registered in the area and designated from other ports in its early days. Now the village is very modern in business, but the famous river sunsets will always hold a glimpse of the past.
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Edward Lynch as some of the first teachers that year. Another school had to be built at the cross roads of Main and what is now School Street, but was torn down in 1968. There were also small schools located on the properties of the late Rev. John
Mitchelle and the late D. Mackay Ross. Each surrounding rural community had their own one room school house, Mountain Road, Louisville, Marshville, Cape John, Seafoam, Melville, Hodson, Hedgeville, Bigney, Welsford, and Toney River.
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River John built Pictou County's largest sailing ships, the
Warrior and the Caldera. The Warrior measured 221’ long, 50’5", 24’2" in depth, weighing 1,687.27 tons with two and a quarter decks. The Caldera (River John distillery, Caldera, was named after this ship) was launched a fortnight after her
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With the decline of shipbuilding which resulted in loss of many businesses in the late 1880s, the
Pioneer ran its last issue. Here are examples of inserts within the original newspaper: In the February 27th issue, 1879, notes “Mrs Bates, better know here as Miss Anne Swan, the Nova Scotia Giantess,
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The timber for ships was cut by hand and hauled out by horse or oxen to a cleared space near the building site, this was more suitable during the winter while the snow lay deep over the woodlands. The launch site was on the area what is now called “River Road”, the ships faced into the sunset with
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The
Pioneer community newspaper began publishing in 1877 on every Thursday in River John, with a subscription rate of 50 cents for the year. The Pioneer contained business ads that were prominent during the shipbuilding days, carriage building, local events such as kitchen parties, fancy goods and
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In 1808, the school was opened under
Reverend John Mitchelle who came from Amherst to River John, with Christopher Perrin as the schoolmaster teaching his pupils to read, write, and count in French with classes being held in just local houses. In 1818 the first school was built with James Hogg and
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River John was a very thriving community in the mid-1800s with as many as four vessels under construction at once with many sailing around the world. The first vessel launched was the Robert MacKay in 1825. The production of larger ships began around 1835, when
Alexander McKenzie built the barque
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The River John
Consolidated School was built in 1968 at the top of School Street with a few hundred students attending, with the new addition built in 1985 around when one of the old schools was torn down near it. Until its closure in 2015, the school held students from primary through to nine.
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the heavy planks set down into the water for a gentle slide into the channel in the mouth of the bay. Even today there are traces of the launch site during low tide hidden by the mudflats. With the construction of the railway and improved roads, the need for waterborne transportation dwindled.
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owned by a company that had no longer use for it, so it was sold off. In 1785 John
Frederic Patriquin, John George Patriquin, George Frederic Langill (or Langille) and James Gratto each built their log cabins near each other originally and then more settlers came in each taking their own land.
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Bigney, Black River, Brook Road, Cape John, Caribou River, College Grant, Diamond, Dufferin, East Branch River John, Elmfield, Fitzpatrick, Hedgeville, Hodson, Loganville, Louisville, MacKays Corner, Marshville, Meadowville, Melville, Mountain Road, Plainfield, Poplar Hill, River John, Rogers,
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The shipyard workmen kept well entertained with music from their own band. In the area there was a cricket field, a skating rink and a YMCA hall. It is noted in the Forbes’ MS, “with the shipbuilding squires stepping out for church on Sunday mornings or driving their matched bays on
Saturday
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In July 2014, The
Pioneer was resurrected again after near 130 years. It is now published three times a year by the River John Community Action Society as a not-for-profit community-owned paper and distributed freely throughout the BOK 1N0 postal area.
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rival. She was longer than the Warrior but with less deck tonnage, 230’ long, breadth 39’ 5", hold depth 24’1", and weighed 1,575 tons. The Caldera was one of the more well-known ships in the province to have made at least one voyage around the world.
484:(typically a three-mast sailing ship in which the front and mainmast are square rigged and only the mizzen is front and rear) Charles weighing at 519 tons. The first vessel to exceed 1,000 tons was the Mary P. Kitchin in 1874.
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and other urban areas in the province. The village supports a few local shops, a library, several churches, a post office and a volunteer fire department. The K-9 school was closed in 2015.
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The first official settlers in River John were four men and their families who did not want to pay as tenants in the nearby village of Tatamagouche. At the time the land was part of the
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Today the local economy is based on the seasonal industries of fishing, agriculture, and tourism. The area is a popular summer cottage location for residents of
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Students in senior high had to then travel by bus to West Pictou High School in Lyons Brook, and more recently Northumberland Regional High in Alma.
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patient mediation ads since the paper was edited and published by J. D. Gauld who was the owner of the drug store.
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has presented Mr Bates with a child. 30 inches in length, 16 inches across the chest and 22 pounds in weight.”
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Since 1999, River John has hosted the annual Read By the Sea literary festival. Featured guests have included
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during the 18th century and its port and the proximity of plentiful timber led to the development of a small
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afternoon, River John was able to hold its own with the best of the country.”
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The river was originally called Caijebouguac (lonely river) by the indigenous
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Unincorporated village and surrounding rural areas in Nova Scotia, Canada
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825:"Water Feature: A festival on the Northumberland Shore turns twenty"
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Sherwood, R. (September 24, 1975). "The Pioneer of River John".
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769:. No. Fall 2022. River John Community Action Society
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Sutherland, D. J. (2017, October 13). Personal interview.
797:. New Glasgow, NS: The Pictou County Historical Society.
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The ships, shipbuilders and seamen of Pictou County
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638:. New Glasgow, NS: The Hector Publishing Co., LTD.
417:(1883–1957) lived in River John, as do novelist
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812:. Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
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666:The Kirk: A history of St. George's church
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611:Belleville, ON: Mike Publishing Company.
607:Public Archives of Nova Scotia. (1967).
681:Past and present: History & recipes
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562:"River John keeps battling for school"
560:CAMPBELL, FRANCIS (October 30, 2015).
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364:It is located near the mouth of the
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596:River John: Its pastors and people.
752:. Pictou, NS: Advocate Publishing.
668:. Pictou, NS: Advocate Publishing.
535:Geographical Names Board of Canada
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829:Literary Review Journal of Canada
823:Bell, Cheryl (7 September 2019).
235:430 km (170 sq mi)
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182: • Governing Body
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185:Pictou County Municipal Council
695:"River John School will close"
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1427:Halifax Regional Municipality
622:The Mackenzies of River John.
1533:Communities in Pictou County
395:River John was colonized by
413:The Nova Scotia folklorist
76:Location within Nova Scotia
36:and surrounding rural areas
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846:River John virtual village
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653:. River John, NS: Author.
620:Mackenzie, T. G. (1955).
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1453:Administrative divisions
624:New Glasgow, NS: Author.
598:New Glasgow, NS: Author.
540:Natural Resources Canada
1511:WikiProject:Nova Scotia
1085:District municipalities
1052:Regional municipalities
380:near the boundary with
337:Part of a series about
196:Mary Wooldridge-Elliott
810:Sails of the Maritimes
683:. Pictou, NS: Authors.
594:Gordon, G. L. (1911).
256:5.6/km (15/sq mi)
994:County municipalities
651:The River John reader
370:Northumberland Strait
339:Places in Nova Scotia
279: • Summer (
104:45.74861°N 63.05778°W
1487:Category:Nova Scotia
1437:Southern Nova Scotia
793:Cameron, J. (1990).
748:Millard, E. (1994).
649:Gill, J. M. (2000).
634:MacLaren, G (1954).
567:The Chronicle Herald
253: • Density
808:Parker, P. (1976).
664:Baillie, J (2010).
386:Nova Scotia Trunk 6
109:45.74861; -63.05778
100: /
1422:Cape Breton Island
442:Philadelphia grant
372:, halfway between
318:Telephone Exchange
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771:. Retrieved
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679:RJs (1985).
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571:. Retrieved
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543:. Retrieved
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530:"River John"
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479:Shipbuilding
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423:Sheree Fitch
419:Linda Little
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401:shipbuilding
394:
378:Tatamagouche
363:
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1458:Communities
1432:North Shore
1379:St. Peter's
1226:New Glasgow
1181:Bridgewater
1123:Guysborough
1060:Cape Breton
929:Guysborough
909:Cape Breton
883:Nova Scotia
750:Back when..
573:11 November
545:11 November
421:and writer
384:. It is on
359:Nova Scotia
295:Postal code
221:Sean Fraser
166:Communities
150:Nova Scotia
107: /
1309:Bible Hill
1251:Stellarton
1211:Mahone Bay
1171:Antigonish
1138:St. Mary's
1118:East Hants
1098:Barrington
1075:West Hants
1017:Cumberland
1012:Colchester
1007:Antigonish
919:Cumberland
914:Colchester
904:Antigonish
773:13 January
516:References
403:industry.
366:River John
361:, Canada.
347:River John
240:Population
192:Councillor
177:Government
95:63°03′28″W
92:45°44′55″N
70:River John
25:River John
1359:New Minas
1344:Hebbville
1339:Greenwood
1299:Aylesford
1276:Wolfville
1271:Westville
1256:Stewiacke
1246:Shelburne
1216:Middleton
1206:Lunenburg
1201:Lockeport
1196:Kentville
1133:Shelburne
1128:Lunenburg
1022:Inverness
1002:Annapolis
974:Shelburne
954:Lunenburg
944:Inverness
899:Annapolis
709:28 August
462:Newspaper
397:Europeans
306:Area code
262:Time zone
1527:Category
1399:Weymouth
1394:Westport
1389:Tiverton
1349:Kingston
1334:Freeport
1291:Villages
1281:Yarmouth
1221:Mulgrave
1143:Yarmouth
1042:Victoria
1037:Richmond
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969:Richmond
891:Counties
138:Province
1369:Pugwash
1319:Chester
1314:Canning
1304:Baddeck
1261:Trenton
1176:Berwick
1161:Amherst
1103:Chester
1065:Halifax
934:Halifax
500:Tourism
429:History
408:Halifax
368:on the
327:Website
299:B0K 1N0
120:Country
34:village
1468:People
1236:Pictou
1231:Oxford
1093:Argyle
1070:Queens
1032:Pictou
964:Queens
959:Pictou
449:School
435:Mikmaq
374:Pictou
349:is an
156:County
147:
132:Canada
129:
1446:Lists
1329:Dover
1266:Truro
1191:Digby
1153:Towns
1113:Digby
1108:Clare
1027:Kings
949:Kings
939:Hants
924:Digby
767:(PDF)
290:(ADT)
288:UTC-3
267:UTC-4
248:2,399
775:2024
711:2021
575:2015
547:2015
508:and
376:and
227:Area
322:351
311:902
281:DST
271:AST
203:MLA
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