Welcome to Yarmouth! /Bienvenue à Yarmouth!
Yarmouth is the shire town of Yarmouth County and is by far the largest town in southwestern Nova Scotia.
Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the region was known as "Keespongwitk" meaning "Lands End" due to its position at the tip of the Nova Scotian peninsula.
The region was visited in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain, who named it "Cap-Fourchu", meaning "forked cape."The first Europeans to make a settlement on these shores were the French Acadians. They set up a small fishing settlement known as "Tebouque" in the mid 1600s and by 1750 the population was 50 people.
During the Seven Years' War, New England Planters settled at what is now the town of Yarmouth in 1759; the grantees were from Yarmouth, Massachusetts and they requested that Yarmouth be named after their former home.
Yarmouth was founded on June 9, 1761, when a ship carrying three families arrived from Sandwich, Massachusetts. The ship carried the families of Sealed Landers, Ebenezer Ellis, and Moses Perry. Acadians originally from the Grand-Pré district who returned from exile in 1767 settled in the Yarmouth area as well.
Through the 19th century the town was a major shipbuilding centre, at one point boasting more registered tonnage per capita than any other port in the world. From 1874 to 1885, Yarmouth was the second largest port of registry in Canada following Saint John, New Brunswick. In 1878, Yarmouth's tonnage peaked at 453 vessels aggregating 166,623 tons, and in 1879, the town had the second largest registered tonnage in Canada.
Yarmouth ships were found in most major ports throughout the world at this time, including ships noted for courageous crews such as the ship Research in 1861 and ships noted for great size such as the ship County of Yarmouth in 1884, one of the largest wooden hull ships ever built in Canada.
Yarmouth is known for some of the most exuberant examples of Victorian houses styles in the Maritimes, a legacy of the wealthy captains and shipowners of the town's seafaring Golden Age. A heritage district preserves several blocks of these residences, including the Lovitt House and Eakin/Hatfield House. On the waterfront, two historic warehouses survive from the sailing era, the Killam Brothers and Parker-Eakin's buildings, each with an associated wharf, which are the focal points of summer waterfront events. Yarmouth's Main Street is also marked by several distinctive Victorian commercial buildings such as the turreted Yarmouth Block Building.
A landmark for Yarmouth Harbour is the large Cape Forchu Lighthouse which is located a few kilometers away at the headland of Cape Forchu, the peninsula that guards Yarmouth Harbour. The tall "apple core" style is a notable example of modernist style light tower.
A few fun facts about Yarmouth:
1. The Vikings are rumoured to have visited and possibly deposited a runic stone which can be viewed at a local museum.
2. Yarmouth is known as the Banana Belt of the Atlantic Provinces due to its mild winters (compared to elsewhere in Canada)
3. The classic Christmas song ''Its begining to look a lot like Christmas'' is said to have been inspired by Yarmouth.
4. A Hollywood movie was recently filmed at the lighthouse in Yarmouth.
5. The area has the largest fishing industry in all of Canada.
To log this virtual cache, please complete the following task:
- Please post a photo in your log of yourself or a personal item at one (or more, if you so wish) of the following landmarks that comprise the core of the downtown area:
a) - Yarmouth Town Hall (Posted coordinates)
b) - The Yarmouth Cenotaph (Reference Point 1)
c) - Frost Park (Reference Point 2)
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.