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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Aerial view of Jack and Mary Rankin’s farm
Jack and Mary Rankin’s farm
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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Historic Island lighthouse
Island lighthouse context; not a photograph of the Inveralt rescue. · PIHS collection

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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Island of Abundance
Andrea Rankin Sibley collection

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.

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Jack Happy MacDonald
Jack Happy MacDonald · PIHS collection

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The Historical Map

Read original maps, compare periods and explore nineteen landmark histories.

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Original 1879 Meacham map of Pictou Island
Meacham’s 1879 atlas · original labels and qualified historical links.

From 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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Hooper and MacLean family group
Hooper and MacLean family group · Andrea Rankin Sibley collection

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Hooper family photograph

People

Families, residents and the lives of people connected with Pictou Island.

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The East End shoreline

Places

Roads, coves, buildings, cemeteries, community sites and changing landscapes.

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The preserved Island iceboat

Exhibits

Explore larger stories and themes from Pictou Island’s history.

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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.