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Truro, Nova Scotia

Coordinates: 45°21′53″N 63°16′48″W / 45.36472°N 63.28000°W / 45.36472; -63.28000
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Truro
Trùru (Scottish Gaelic)
Town
Town of Truro
The bay of the Minas Basin in Truro
The bay of the Minas Basin in Truro
Flag of Truro
Flag
Coat of arms of Truro
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
Hub of Nova Scotia
Motto(s): 
Begun In Faith, Continued In Determination
Truro is located in Nova Scotia
Truro
Truro
Location within Nova Scotia
Coordinates: 45°21′53″N 63°16′48″W / 45.36472°N 63.28000°W / 45.36472; -63.28000
CountryCanada
ProvinceNova Scotia
CountyColchester
Founded1759
IncorporatedMay 6, 1875
Government
 • BodyTruro Town Council
 • MayorCathy Hinton
 • MLADave Ritcey (PC)
 • MPStephen Ellis (C)
Area
 (2021)[1]
 • Total
37.52 km2 (14.49 sq mi)
Elevation
19 m (62 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Total
12,954
 • Density345.3/km2 (894/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)ADT
Postal code span
B2N
Area code902 & 782
Telephone Exchanges902-305, 843, 890, 893, 895, 896, 897, 898, 899, 956, 957, 986
Highways Hwy 104 (TCH)
Hwy 102
Trunk 2
Trunk 4
Route 236
Route 311
Median household income (2005)$37,056
Total private dwellings6,574
NTS Map11E6 Truro
GNBC CodeCBMKT[2]
Websitetruro.ca

Truro (Scottish Gaelic: Trùru) 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 mouth at the eastern end of Cobequid Bay.

History

[edit]
Mi'kmaq women selling baskets

The area has been home to the Mi'kmaq people for several centuries. The Mi'kmaq name for the Truro area, "Wagobagitik" means "end of the water's flow". Mi'kmaq people continue to live in the area at the Millbrook and Truro reserves of the Millbrook – We’kopekwitk band.[3][4]

Acadian settlers came to this area in the early 1700s. The Mi'kmaq name for the Truro area was shortened by the settlers to "Cobequid", and the bay to the west of the town is still named Cobequid Bay. By 1727, the settlers had established a small village near the present downtown site of Truro known as "Vil Bois Brule" (Village in the burnt wood).[5] Many Acadians in this region left in the Acadian Exodus which preceded the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. In 1761, the British settled the area with Presbyterians of predominantly Ulster Scottish origin who came from Ireland via New England. They named the new settlement after the city of Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

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 which increased even more when the railway connected to central Canada in 1872 and became the Intercolonial Railway. The Intercolonial, which later became the Canadian National Railway built a large roundhouse and rail yard in Truro. Further rail links to Cape Breton and to the Annapolis Valley through the Dominion Atlantic Railway in 1905 increased the town's importance as a transportation hub for Nova Scotia. The railway also attracted industries such as the Truro Woolen Mills in 1870 (which later became Stanfield's) and provincial institutions like the provincial Normal School (later the Nova Scotia Teachers College) and the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. The town officially incorporated in 1875. Many figures from the town's past were featured in over 40 tree sculptures which were carved in tree trunks after Truro lost most of its Elm trees to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1990s.[6] As of 2018, most of these sculptures were suffering from severe deterioration and were taken down.[7] The history of the town and surrounding county is preserved at the Colchester Historical Museum (c.1900-1901), which is designated under the provincial Heritage Property Act.[8]

History

[edit]
Opera and Gospel singer, Portia White

Three areas of Truro contain many African Nova Scotian residents. The residents of Upper/Lower Ford Street (“the Marsh”) are descendants of Black Loyalists and Black Refugees. Young Street (“the Hill”) has people from a number of different cultural and ethnic diversities. Black Loyalist descendants make up the vast majority of people in the third area, West Prince Street (“the Island”). Many of Truro's black community has roots in the historically important Black Nova Scotian settlements of Guysborough County. Zion United Baptist Church, first founded in 1896 on Prince Street, has long been the spiritual heart of the community.[9]

Truro is also the birthplace of world-renowned contralto, Portia White (1911–1968). To support herself while taking music lessons at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts she taught school in Africville and Lucasville. Her national debut occurred in 1941 at the Eaton Auditorium in Toronto, and her international debut came at the Town Hall in New York in 1944. She gave a Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of Confederation Centre in Charlottetown in 1964. A monument commemorating Portia White stands on the grounds of the Zion United Baptist Church.

A number of other prominent Black Canadians have roots in the town. One of Canada's most well known civil rights leader, Burnley Allan "Rocky" Jones, was raised in "the Marsh" neighbourhood of Truro.[10] Art Dorrington, the first black hockey player to sign an NHL contract was raised in "the Island".[11]

Infrastructure and attractions

[edit]
Truro railyards at the junction of the CN & CB&CNSR lines, 2006.

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 Port Hawkesbury. 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.

View from Cobequid Trail, 2015

An important highway interchange is located just north of Truro in the rural community of Onslow where Highway 102 ends at Highway 104 - both four lane expressways. Secondary roads Trunk 2 and Trunk 4 intersect in the town. Important tertiary roads Route 236 and Route 311 end in the nearby communities of Lower Truro and Onslow respectively. Some of these roads also form part of the Glooscap Trail which is a scenic drive for tourists. Truro railway station is served by Via Rail's Ocean line.

Nova Scotia Power has several transmission line corridors in or near Truro; additionally Bell Aliant, EastLink and 360networks route most of the major telephone and data communications lines in the province through the town.

Six large sections of the Berlin Wall are located along the Cobequid Trail, on the Agricultural Campus of Dalhousie University.[12]

Education

[edit]

Truro has two public high schools, Cobequid Educational Centre and the francophone École acadienne de Truro. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, and The Institute of Human Services Education, Jane Norman College as well as the Agricultural Campus of Dalhousie University, in the neighboring village of Bible Hill.

Sports

[edit]

Truro has three ice hockey rinks: Deuvilles Rink, Rath Eastlink Community Centre, and the Colchester Legion Stadium. Truro is home to the Truro Bearcats, a Junior "A" ice hockey team who are four time MJAHL Champions. (Canadian) Football is also a popular sport in the town with all games being played on Friday night at the Truro Amateur Athletic Club (TAAC) grounds. Truro Raceway conducts harness races every Sunday. Truro is also home to a rugby club, which hosts the World Indoor Sevens Rugby Championships.

Truro also has a senior baseball team, the Truro Senior Bearcats, that play in the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League.[13] Their home field is at the Truro Amateur Athletic Club (TAAC).

Lacrosse has become a very popular sport in Truro over the recent years. There is a minor lacrosse association, the Truro Bearcats Lacrosse Association, which allows youth to take part in organized lacrosse teams and games.[14] As well, there is a junior A lacrosse team, the Mi'Kmaq Warriors, that plays in the East Coast Junior Lacrosse League.[15] They play in the summer months out of the Colchester Legion Stadium.

Notable people

[edit]

Climate

[edit]
Winter, 2018

Truro has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) similar to the vast majority of The Maritimes with warm, wet summers and cold, snowy winters.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Truro was 35.6 °C (96 °F) on 19 August 1935 and 15 August 1944.[16][17] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −38.3 °C (−37 °F) on 22 January 1934.[18]

Climate data for Truro, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1873–present[a]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.2
(63.0) 		17.0
(62.6) 		20.0
(68.0) 		27.2
(81.0) 		30.6
(87.1) 		33.0
(91.4) 		33.9
(93.0) 		35.6
(96.1) 		33.1
(91.6) 		26.5
(79.7) 		22.2
(72.0) 		17.8
(64.0) 		35.6
(96.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5) 		−0.7
(30.7) 		3.1
(37.6) 		9.1
(48.4) 		16.0
(60.8) 		20.8
(69.4) 		24.1
(75.4) 		23.7
(74.7) 		19.4
(66.9) 		13.2
(55.8) 		7.2
(45.0) 		1.5
(34.7) 		11.3
(52.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.9
(19.6) 		−6
(21) 		−1.8
(28.8) 		4.2
(39.6) 		10.0
(50.0) 		14.8
(58.6) 		18.4
(65.1) 		18.0
(64.4) 		13.7
(56.7) 		8.0
(46.4) 		3.1
(37.6) 		−3.2
(26.2) 		6.0
(42.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −12.4
(9.7) 		−11.3
(11.7) 		−6.6
(20.1) 		−0.7
(30.7) 		4.1
(39.4) 		8.8
(47.8) 		12.8
(55.0) 		12.3
(54.1) 		8.1
(46.6) 		2.7
(36.9) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		−7.9
(17.8) 		0.7
(33.3)
Record low °C (°F) −38.3
(−36.9) 		−35.6
(−32.1) 		−31.1
(−24.0) 		−23.9
(−11.0) 		−7.2
(19.0) 		−4.4
(24.1) 		0.0
(32.0) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		−7.2
(19.0) 		−12.2
(10.0) 		−21.1
(−6.0) 		−34.4
(−29.9) 		−38.3
(−36.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 114.6
(4.51) 		90.5
(3.56) 		104.2
(4.10) 		84.8
(3.34) 		94.5
(3.72) 		92.8
(3.65) 		85.2
(3.35) 		79.6
(3.13) 		103.5
(4.07) 		104.5
(4.11) 		115.0
(4.53) 		114.0
(4.49) 		1,183.1
(46.58)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 62.7
(2.47) 		47.4
(1.87) 		65.8
(2.59) 		69.6
(2.74) 		92.8
(3.65) 		92.8
(3.65) 		85.2
(3.35) 		79.6
(3.13) 		103.5
(4.07) 		104.5
(4.11) 		103.2
(4.06) 		72.5
(2.85) 		979.5
(38.56)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 55.1
(21.7) 		45.4
(17.9) 		40.7
(16.0) 		16.3
(6.4) 		1.7
(0.7) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		12.4
(4.9) 		43.1
(17.0) 		214.7
(84.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 15.6 12.3 12.9 13.2 15.3 15.1 13.1 13.8 15.3 16.1 16.7 15.9 175.2
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 6.4 5.2 7.1 10.5 15.3 15.1 13.1 13.8 15.3 16.1 14.5 8.2 140.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 11.1 9.3 7.7 4.1 0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.5 9.2 45.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 77.9 98.0 114.6 141.7 191.8 203.8 225.3 210.3 148.5 122.5 71.3 62.6 1,668.3
Percent possible sunshine 27.5 33.5 31.1 35.0 41.6 43.6 47.6 48.1 39.4 36.0 24.8 22.9 35.9
Source: Environment Canada[19][20][21][22]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1762120—    
18712,114+1661.7%
18813,461+63.7%
18915,012+44.8%
19015,993+19.6%
19116,017+0.4%
19217,592+26.2%
19317,901+4.1%
194110,272+30.0%
195110,756+4.7%
195612,250+13.9%
196112,421+1.4%
197113,047+5.0%
197612,840−1.6%
198112,552−2.2%
198612,124−3.4%
199111,683−3.6%
199611,938+2.2%
200111,457−4.0%
200611,765+2.7%
201112,059+2.5%
201612,261+1.7%
202112,954+5.7%
[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Truro had a population of 12,954 living in 6,347 of its 6,658 total private dwellings, a change of 5.7% from its 2016 population of 12,261. With a land area of 37.52 km2 (14.49 sq mi), it had a population density of 345.3/km2 (894.2/sq mi) in 2021.[31]

Canada 2016 Census Population % of Total Population
Visible minority group
Source:[32] 		Black 490 4.2%
South Asian 115 1%
Filipino 85 0.7%
Chinese 75 0.6%
Other and mixed visible minority 95 0.8%
Total visible minority population 860 7.3%
Aboriginal group
Source:[33] 		First Nations 355 3%
Other Aboriginal or self identified 240 2%
Total Aboriginal population 595 5.1%
European Canadian 10,280 87.6%
Total population 11,735 100%

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Climate data was recorded at Truro from January 1873 to August 1915, at Truro NSAC from January 1910 to April 2005 and at Debert from December 2003 to present.

References

[edit]
  • Davis, Stephen A. (1997). Mi'kmaq. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing Limited. ISBN 1551091801.
  1. ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Nova Scotia)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  2. ^ "Truro". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  3. ^ Davis 1997, p. 71.
  4. ^ "Mi'kmaw Bands in Nova Scotia". Cape Breton University. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  5. ^ C. Bruce Fergusson, "Truro", Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Archives (1967), p. 684
  6. ^ "Tree Sculpture Committee", Town of TruroArchived 2013-01-01 at archive.today
  7. ^ "Remaining wood sculptures in Truro coming down". Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Colchester Historical Museum. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  9. ^ "Marking African Heritage Month at Truro's Zion Baptist Church | The Chronicle Herald". www.thechronicleherald.ca. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "Treason of the Black Intellectuals? For Burnley A. ('Rocky') Jones (1937-)". Odysseys Home. University of Toronto Press. January 31, 2002.
  11. ^ "Art Dorrington: A hockey pioneer | Truro News". www.trurodaily.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  12. ^ "SaltWire".
  13. ^ "Rosters".
  14. ^ "Truro Bearcats Lacrosse Association powered by GOALLINE.ca".
  15. ^ "Mi'Kmaq Warriors Jr a Lacrosse powered by GOALLINE.ca".
  16. ^ "August 1935". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  17. ^ "August 1944". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "January 1934". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  19. ^ "Truro, Nova Scotia". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  20. ^ "Truro". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  21. ^ "Truro NSAC". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  22. ^ "Daily Data Report for September 2010". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  23. ^ [1], Censuses 1871-1941
  24. ^ [2], Census 1941-1951
  25. ^ 1762 Census Archived 2013-03-07 at archive.today
  26. ^ [3], Censuses 1871-1931
  27. ^ Census 1956-1961
  28. ^ [4], Census 1961
  29. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Censuses 1981-2001
  30. ^ [5], Census 2006
  31. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Nova Scotia". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  32. ^ "Community Profiles from the 2016 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision". 2.statcan.gc.ca. December 6, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  33. ^ "Aboriginal Peoples - Data table". 2.statcan.ca. October 6, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
[edit]

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