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LOCATION:

The Sambro area is at the furthermost part of the southeastern entrance to Halifax Harbour. The Sambro village itself is located near the head of Sambro Harbour at the end of Route #306.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The Mi'kmaq called the community "Mesebakum" or "Mesebakunuk," which rather enigmatically means 'the constant mocker.' French fishermen referred to it as "Cesambre," which was anglicized to Sambro.

SETTLEMENT HISTORY:

Sambro Harbour has been a haven for fishermen for centuries. Here, sailors from Europe who were fishing along the coast of Nova Scotia would go ashore to dry and salt their catch and replenish their fresh water supply. There is even evidence to suggest that the English had arrived along the shores of the harbour and were trading with the Mi'kmaq as early as 1698.

Governor Cornwallis saw the need to populate the area with British settlers to deter a French attack by sea. So by 1752, three years after the founding of Halifax, twenty-six families lived and worked on Sambro Island, engaged in a thriving fishing industry.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS:

A lighthouse was built on the island from 1758 to 1760. It stands sixty-two feet on the top of the rocky island and is said to be the oldest lighthouse in Nova Scotia. The lighthouse has a long and colorful history.

The fist keepers were Joseph Rous and Michael Pennell. Oennell and his son, Michael Jr., were from the New England States. When Michael Pennell drowned near a shoal named for him, his son took over as a keeper. Later members of the Gilkie family were in charge. The last keepers were John Fairservice and his wife, who lived there with their children from the mid-1960s until the late 1980s. They were among the very last keepers in Nova Scotia and Mr. Fairservice often told the story of Big Alex, a soldier who either did himself in or was murdered by his compatriots for stealing the soldier's pay. On dark nights when the keeper came down the steps after checking the light, he often heard footsteps behind him. Today the lens from the Sambro light is on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on Halifax's waterfront.

MORE COMMUNITY STORIES:

A number of fishermen began settling on the mainland, across from Sambro Island, including a group from Barrington Passage. According to folklore, they married local girls from Terence Bay since it was easier to sail to the bay to find a wife than manage the trip to Halifax. Among the very earliest settlers was a family by the name of Gray, who came from either Holland or Germany around 1779, and Elkanah Smith who arrived via Sherose Island in Shelburne around 1797.

GENEALOGY:

Other family names of early settlers included the Gilke, Flemming, Neal, Quinn, Ring, Saddler, Wilson, Nickerson, Barss and Williams.

SAMBRO TODAY:

Near Sambro are three beaches within the Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park, of which one is crescent shaped. There is a marked ten-kilometer hiking trail that leads to the Pennant Point and the ruins at Coote Cove.

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