LOCATION:

The community of Bedford is located on the north side of the Bedford Basin.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Soon after establishing the garrison at Halifax, Governor Cornwallis organized his men and began the construction of a road leading to the Minas Bay on the Bay of Fundy using Mi'kmaq footpaths as their guide. To protect the route and the road workers, he hired John Gorham and his Rangers to erect a defense post at the head of the Bedford Basin. It was named Fort Sackville after Lionel Cranfield, Viscount Sackville and first Duke of Dorset. The area around the fort became known as Sackville until the mid-1850s when it became better known as Bedford.

During the early 1800s, the area became known as Peirs Mill after William Piers. It had had others names as well: Nine Mile River, Lower Bedford, Doyle's Dump, and even "The Dump." When the railway went through the station at Piers Mill it was renamed Millview - a reflection on the number of mills in the area.

The boundary lines for the community of Sackville were eventually placed further along the Bedford Highway beyond the Basin. Then the highway, the basin and the village at the head of the Bedford Basin took on the name of Bedford in the honour of John Russell, the 4th Duke of Bedford and Secretary of State for the colonies in 1749. After the construction of the railway in the mid-1850s, in 1896 the name became official by an Act of Legislation. On July 1, 1980, Bedford was incorporated as a town. It is now part of the greater Halifax Regional Municipality.

SETTLEMENT HISTORY:

In 1752, George Scott was among the first to receive a large land grant in the Fort Sackville area. Joseph Scott, paymaster at the Halifax Garrison from 1761 to 17663 received two grants; one in 1759 and a further one hundred acres in 1765. In 1770 he built Scott Manor House on his estate abutting Fort Sackville. Today the mansion is a Provinical designated heritage property.

Eventually, other families arrived and set up small businesses. After receiving a 245-acre land grant, the Mixner family carried on a tannery business for a number of years prior to 1813. Around 1819, Anthony Holland established the Acadian Paper Mill on the Basin to provide paper to produce the Acadian Recorder, a Halifax newspaper. Flemming Smith, the son of Virginian slaves, sold spruce, hop and corn to Halifax merchants. He also established picnic grounds for those people who wanted to come and enjoy the spectacular beauty of Bedford Basin and the surrounding countryside.

OTHER FAMOUS SETTLERS:

The Moir family business began in Halifax manufacturing bakery products. In 1873, a son of William Moir, James, added confectionery goods to their business. Eventually the Moirs, Son and Co. moved a part of the Moirs Mill factory to the Bedford property. The Moirs Mill generating station is the only building left standing that was once a part of the Moirs Mill factory. Built in the early 1930s, it supplied the necessary electricity required to operate the factory as it produced chocolates and wooden boxes. The structure was the first property in Bedford to be designated as a Provincial heritage property. Today the building is used as a Visitor's Information Centre.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS:

By the 1780s more settlers had arrived and the road that Cornwallis had built was well used. Then in 1782, a tollgate was erected. The residents were not pleased to have to pay a fee to travel along the road, so one night, under cover of darkness, several horsemen gathered to destroy the gate. A reward was offered to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the vandals, but no one ever stepped forward. A new gate was built, but it too was torn down in 1785 - this time never replaced