Louisbourg

Coordinates: 45°55′11.5″N 59°58′22.1″W / 45.919861°N 59.972806°W / 45.919861; -59.972806
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the fortress, see Fortress of Louisbourg.

Louisbourg
902

Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia.

History

The

Louis XIV.[1] They did so by transplanting settlers there from the evacuated Terre-Neuve colony. The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'Anglois, the French settlement that dated from 1713. The settlement was burned the first day the British landed during the Siege of Louisbourg (1745). The French were terrorized and abandoned the Grand Battery, which the British occupied the following day. It was returned to France in 1748 but recaptured by the British in 1758
.

After the capture in 1758, its fortifications were demolished in 1760 and the town-site abandoned by British forces in 1768. A small civilian population continued to live there after the military left.[2]

English settlers subsequently built a small fishing village across the harbour from the abandoned site of the fortress. The village grew slowly with additional

sinking of the RMS Titanic. In 1913 the Marconi Company
established a transatlantic radio transmitting station here.

Incorporated in 1901, the Town of Louisbourg was disincorporated when all municipal units in

Cape Breton County were merged into a single tier regional municipality in 1995.[3]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19411,012—    
19511,120+10.7%
19561,314+17.3%
19611,417+7.8%
19811,410−0.5%
19861,355−3.9%
19911,373+1.3%
19961,267−7.7%
20011,157−8.7%
2011
946−4.3%
[4][5][6][7] 2006 population adjusted to match 2011 boundaries.

Name

Pronounced "Lewisburg" by its largely English-speaking population, the present community has been identified by slightly different spellings over the years by both locals and visitors. The town was originally spelled Louisburg and several companies, including the Sydney and Louisburg Railway adopted this spelling. On 6 April 1966, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly passed "An Act to Change the Name of the Town of Louisburg" which resulted in the town changing its official name to the original French spelling Louisbourg.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Louisbourg had a population of 825 living in 377 of its 420 total private dwellings, a change of -5.9% from its 2016 population of 877. With a land area of 3.3 km2 (1.3 sq mi), it had a population density of 250.0/km2 (647.5/sq mi) in 2021.[8]

Economy

Louisbourg's economy is dominated by the seasonal tourism industry and seafood processing. The depletion of groundfish stocks has negatively affected local fish processing operations in recent decades.

In the 1960s,

National Historic Site of Canada is the town's dominant economic engine, employing many residents and attracting thousands of tourists every year. The fortress holds large scale historical reenactments every few years to mark important historical events and attract visitors to the town. The most recent in July 2008, commemorated the 250th anniversary of the first British siege victory over French forces in July 1758.[9] The town's more recent history is preserved at the Sydney and Louisburg Railway Museum located in the restored railway station in the centre of town.[10]

Annually, the community hosts the Louisbourg Crab Fest.[11] A large golf course and residential resort is planned near the community; designed by Nick Faldo, the resort was expected to open in 2010 but development stalled in the recession.[12]

Louisbourg is home to the Louisbourg Playhouse, a theatre company operating in an Elizabethan theatre that was used as a prop in the live-action 1994 Disney film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale.[13]

Climate

Louisbourg experiences a marine influenced humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The highest temperature ever recorded in Louisbourg was 34.0 °C (93 °F) on 2 September 2010 and 15 July 2013.[14][15] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −26.0 °C (−15 °F) on 18 January 1982.[16]

Climate data for Fortress of Louisbourg, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1972–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2) 		13.0
(55.4) 		26.0
(78.8) 		19.0
(66.2) 		29.0
(84.2) 		31.7
(89.1) 		34.0
(93.2) 		32.0
(89.6) 		34.0
(93.2) 		25.0
(77.0) 		20.0
(68.0) 		13.5
(56.3) 		34.0
(93.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −1.0
(30.2) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		1.4
(34.5) 		5.6
(42.1) 		11.0
(51.8) 		16.4
(61.5) 		20.3
(68.5) 		21.4
(70.5) 		18.3
(64.9) 		12.5
(54.5) 		7.0
(44.6) 		2.3
(36.1) 		9.5
(49.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.9
(23.2) 		−5.2
(22.6) 		−2.2
(28.0) 		2.2
(36.0) 		6.9
(44.4) 		11.9
(53.4) 		16.2
(61.2) 		17.6
(63.7) 		14.3
(57.7) 		8.9
(48.0) 		3.8
(38.8) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		5.7
(42.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −8.9
(16.0) 		−9.3
(15.3) 		−5.9
(21.4) 		−1.3
(29.7) 		2.7
(36.9) 		7.4
(45.3) 		12.2
(54.0) 		13.8
(56.8) 		10.3
(50.5) 		5.2
(41.4) 		0.6
(33.1) 		−4.5
(23.9) 		1.9
(35.4)
Record low °C (°F) −26.0
(−14.8) 		−25.0
(−13.0) 		−23.0
(−9.4) 		−13.5
(7.7) 		−7.0
(19.4) 		−1.5
(29.3) 		4.0
(39.2) 		3.5
(38.3) 		−1.7
(28.9) 		−4.5
(23.9) 		−12.0
(10.4) 		−20.6
(−5.1) 		−26.0
(−14.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 147.0
(5.79) 		138.0
(5.43) 		143.6
(5.65) 		147.5
(5.81) 		127.6
(5.02) 		113.1
(4.45) 		108.4
(4.27) 		107.8
(4.24) 		133.0
(5.24) 		158.3
(6.23) 		168.9
(6.65) 		153.1
(6.03) 		1,646.3
(64.81)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 83.4
(3.28) 		77.9
(3.07) 		100.1
(3.94) 		127.9
(5.04) 		126.9
(5.00) 		113.1
(4.45) 		108.4
(4.27) 		107.8
(4.24) 		133.0
(5.24) 		158.3
(6.23) 		160.7
(6.33) 		106.3
(4.19) 		1,403.6
(55.26)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 58.5
(23.0) 		56.6
(22.3) 		41.2
(16.2) 		17.9
(7.0) 		0.8
(0.3) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		8.2
(3.2) 		44.6
(17.6) 		227.8
(89.7)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 15.4 13.3 13.7 15.3 15.2 14.0 13.9 14.3 15.2 16.8 18.9 17.8 183.8
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 8.3 7.2 9.6 13.6 15.1 14.0 13.9 14.3 15.2 16.8 17.5 11.9 157.3
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 9.3 8.0 6.3 3.1 0.24 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.2 8.0 37.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 89.9 109.0 138.4 150.7 170.7 185.5 184.7 182.1 159.8 130.9 74.9 74.2 1,650.7
Percent possible sunshine 31.9 37.3 37.5 37.2 36.9 39.5 38.8 41.6 42.4 38.6 26.2 27.4 36.3
Source:
Environment Canada[16][17][18]

Fictional usage

Louisbourg (spelled Louisberg) was mentioned in

Thomas H. Raddall's 1946 novel Roger Sudden. The town "Louisburg" is mentioned in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline. The 2011 film Take This Waltz
begins with a re-enactment scene from the fortress and features the lighthouse in several shots.

See also

Notes

  1. ISSN 1920-9894
    .
  2. ^ Johnston, A. J. B. (2013). Louisbourg: Past, Present, Future. Halifax: Nimbus.
  3. ISBN 0-88866-533-4
    .
  4. ^ Canada, Statistics (31 March 2008). "Canada Year Book (CYB) Historical Collection" (PDF). www66.statcan.gc.ca.
  5. ^ 140.pdf Archived 2016-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, Canada Year Book 1955
  6. ^ [1], Canada Year Book 1967
  7. ^ [2], Census Profile - Designated place
  8. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  9. ^ Grand Encampment Web Page Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ *"Sydney and Louisburg Railway Historical Society" UCCB Societies Page Archived 2007-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Crab Fest web page". Archived from the original on 2007-10-04. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  12. ^ Resort Web Page
  13. ^ "Louisbourg Playhouse".
  14. Environment Canada
    . 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  15. Environment Canada
    . 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  16. ^
    Environment Canada
    . 31 October 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  17. Environment Canada. Archived from the original
    on 2020-10-31. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  18. Environment Canada
    . 31 October 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2016.

References

Further reading

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Louisburg".

45°55′11.5″N 59°58′22.1″W / 45.919861°N 59.972806°W / 45.919861; -59.972806

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