Truro, Nova Scotia
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View of Truro's Victoria Park, 400 Acres of protected woodland in the heart of the town. Lepper Brook, with its two waterfalls, flows through the park and may be enjoyed from several walking trails. |
Truro (
2001 population 11,457; area population 44,276) is a
town in central
Nova Scotia,
Canada. Truro is the
shire town of
Colchester County and is located on the south side of the
Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's discharge point into the eastern end of
Cobequid Bay.
The town was first settled in
1761 by
Presbyterians of predominantly
Ulster Scottish origin who came from
Ireland via
New England. It is named after the city of
Truro in
Cornwall,
England. Originally a small farming community, the construction of the
Nova Scotia Railway between
Halifax and
Pictou in
1858 caused the municipality to experience a fast rate of growth. It was officially incorporated in
1875.
Today Truro is known as the "Hub of Nova Scotia" as it is located at the junction between the
Canadian National Railway, running between
Halifax and
Montreal, and the
Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway, running between Truro and
Sydney. Until the
1980s, Truro also hosted a junction between the Canadian National and
Canadian Pacific Railway's former
Dominion Atlantic Railway line running through
Windsor and down the
Annapolis Valley to
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
An important highway interchange is located just north of Truro in the rural community of
Onslow where
Nova Scotia Highway 102 (Veterans Memorial Highway) ends at
Nova Scotia Highway 104, a part of the
Trans-Canada Highway.The Nova Scotia Trunk highways
2 and
4 intersect in the town as with the
Glooscap Trail and
Nova Scotia Route 236.
The racial makeup of the town is 95.3%
White, most of whom are of
Ulster Scottish,
Scottish,
English and
Acadian origin. 2.4% of the population is
Aboriginal.
Blacks number the third largest race, comprising 1.4%. The balance of the population is
mixed race,
Asian,
Chinese, and
Filipino.
Famous residents of Truro include:
*
Leo McKay, Jr., novelist
*
Robert Stanfield, politician
*
Portia White, singer
*
Cory Bowles, actor/dancer/muscian
* Sir
Adams George Archibald, Father of Confederation
*
John Gray, playwright
*
Lenore Zann, actress
* Frank McKay, musician
*
Peter Yeadon, renowned architect
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One of Truro's tree sculptures |
The neighbouring village of
Bible Hill is home to the
Nova Scotia Agricultural College, the only university-level agricultural institution in
Atlantic Canada.
The Salmon River running along Truro's northern boundary is renowned for the natural occurrence of a
tidal bore, one of the largest in North America, and a direct result of the power of the
tides of the
Bay of Fundy.
Truro features several unique wooden
sculptures created from the stumps of
elm trees which were lost due to
Dutch Elm disease. The tree sculptures are located throughout the downtown core.
Within the Town is Victoria Park, 400 Acres of protected woodland. Lepper Brook, with its two waterfalls flows through the park and may be enjoyed from several walking trails.
Truro is home to one of Canada's last remaining successful
textile mills,
Stanfield's Limited. Stanfield's is famous throughout Canada for its t-shirts, socks and undergarments. Other products manufactured in Truro include carpeting,
Crossley Carpet Mills, and molded/film plastic products.
*
Town of Truro - official website
