West Dover Evening #1

West Dover is a tiny fishing village on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Created in the 1770's bu settlers mostly of German descent, the early... more

by George Cousins

Title

West Dover Evening #1

Artist

George Cousins

Medium

Photograph

Description

West Dover is a tiny fishing village on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Created in the 1770's bu settlers mostly of German descent, the early days saw a prosperous fishery, with many varieties being sold to the markets of Halifax city.
With it's small protected harbour, boats are safe from the storms of the Atlantic Ocean
For an interesting aspect of life along this coast, I'll quote this from Wikipedia to save typing.:"Prohibition in the United States created opportunity in West Dover from 1920 - 1933 for rum running. Rum running was something that supplemented fishing income and was risky but highly profitable. The fishermen would set out with a load of alcohol on moonless nights and navigate in the darkness to the coast of Maine. The alcohol was stored in wooden barrels loaded with salt. If the fishermen noticed law enforcement vessels they would dump the barrels overboard. The salt in the barrels would slowly dissolve. A few hours later, after the law enforcement officials had left, the barrels would float back up to the surface and be brought back on board."
Of course, West Dover wasn't the only place this happened!
Many changes occurred over the years, especially the decline of the cod fishery, a major blow to the economy, and today most fishermen are engaged in lobster fishing. But with the area around West Dover being turned into the Peggy's Cove Preservation Area in 1961, the village has seen an increase in tourism because of the landscape features created by the glaciers of the last ice age. When we go back home to Nova Scotia, this is one of the first places we head for. So easy to forget the worries of the world.

Uploaded

March 30th, 2013