

Pictou Island Heritage Society · Virtual Museum
Pictou Island Heritage Society
Preserving and sharing the history, stories, places and people of Pictou Island.
This Week in Pictou Island History
1827
59 residents and 116 cultivated acres
Published Island-level data records 59 residents, 116 cultivated acres and mixed crops and livestock. It is 1827 data published by Haliburton in 1829, not an 1828 census.
From the Island’s history. This account is dated to a year or period, rather than this calendar week.
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Andrea Rankin Sibley collection
Featured Article
Inveralt — 1884
An August grounding, a November disaster and the Island’s part in rescue and loss.
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Featured Exhibit
Island of Abundance
How Pictou Island was known, named, mapped, granted, occupied under tenancy and transformed by resident ownership
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An Island life
John Alexander “Jack Happy” MacDonald
John Alexander MacDonald, remembered as Jack Happy, worked in lobster fishing and the canneries before becoming keeper of the West Lighthouse. His later recollections describe cannery work from the age of thirteen and owning fishing gear by seventeen, giving a personal view of working life along the Island shore.
Read the BiographyBrowse all biographies
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The Historical Map
Read original maps, compare periods and explore nineteen landmark histories.
Explore the Historical MapShipwrecks & StrandingsFrom the Collection · Photograph of the Week
Hooper and MacLean family group
A large family group from the Hooper and MacLean families. Identifications supplied with the Andrea Rankin Sibley collection accompany this family photograph.
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Pictou Island Heritage Society
PIHS is a volunteer organization made possible by the time and effort of its board, members and community volunteers. The upkeep of Pictou Island’s heritage sites is ongoing. We greatly appreciate everyone who helps with this annual work.
PIHS is not a registered charity and does not issue tax receipts.