Chestico Museum - Historic Places Days

Chestico Museum

Port Hood, Nova Scotia
Type
Museum/Gallery
Address
8095 Nova Scotia Trunk 19, Port Hood, NS, Canada
Get directions
Hours
June through October - Monday through Friday 8 AM to 5 PM. In July and August open Saturdays noon until 4 PM.
Phone
(902) 787-2244

The Chestico Museum has operated as a community museum since 1986. Highlighting the history and heritage of the Port Hood area, its mission has been to provide local residents and visitors with a unique heritage experience. Port Hood’s marine heritage during the Age of Sail, its heyday as a coal mining town in the early 20th century, and its status as the county seat and commercial centre for Inverness have all been sources for displays over the years.

Most of the artifacts in the Chestico Museum came from the estate of John Hart (1876-1964), a merchant and long-time resident of Port Hood. These artifacts reflect the household of a middle-class family in the area during the late 19th- and early 20th-century. The collection includes furnishing, dishware, photographs, clothing, and books.

In addition, the museum also includes unique items such as a printing press belonging to former Port Hood Greeting printer D.W. Jones, a bottle manufactured by the Port Hood Bottling Factory, a 1919 Thomas Edison working gramophone and records, locally made ship models, agricultural and fishing implements, and an extensive collection of antique clothes irons dating back over two hundred years.

The Chestico Museum Archives houses a large collection of records, maps, photographs, and family histories. Histories of the heritage houses and buildings, as well as extensive genealogical material on Port Hood families are also available.

At present, plans are being made to establish an Inverness County Archives to house the large collection of documents pertaining to the history of the area.

Amenities

  • Family-Friendly
  • Guided Tour
  • Parking
  • Washrooms
  • Wheelchair Access

Fun Facts

The first people who spent time along this shore were the Mi’kmaq. They referred to Port Hood as Ke’kwiamkek (Geg wee ahm geg) which means where the water ends or sandbar.

At the time of the building of Fortress Louisbourg, the French developed a stone quarry on what is now Port Hood Island. In the 1740s and 50s, Port Hood was the main source for the finished or dressed stone used at Louisbourg for window and door casements.

Port Hood was named by Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres. DesBarres named Port Hood for Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood of Whitley (1724-1816).

Two premiers of Nova Scotia have called Port Hood home – Hiram Blanchard and Angus L. MacDonald.

Port Hood became a town in 1903.

Port Hood is the county seat of Inverness County.

Port Hood de-incorporated and reverted to the County on August 31, 1946. It now has village status.

Prior to circa 1819, Port Hood Island was a peninsula connected to the mainland by a low-lying, sandy isthmus.

Sidney Smith, a native of Port Hood Island, was Secretary of State for External Affairs in the Diefenbaker government.

 

Location

8095 Nova Scotia Trunk 19, Port Hood, NS, Canada
Get directions

Video

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