"The forks of a river": Nictaux

Postcard from the edge of where the river forks meet. Hand-tinted photograph, circa 1910. From a volunteer-created collection of Annapolis County postcards. Find it here.

Nictaux Falls is just off Nova Scotia Highway 10, connecting the Annapolis Valley and the Atlantic shore. The railroad tracks which once connected Middleton and the South Shore paralleled the watercourses, and is now a maintained rail trail across the Province.

Built some time before 1811 in NIctaux by Major Nathaniel Parker.

Major Nathaniel Parker, who was attached to the army under General Wolfe and took part in the capture of Quebec in 1759, came to Nova Scotia in 1765 and settled in Nictaux. In 1799 he and his wife, Salome, traveled on horseback to Horton and were baptized by immersion. Thereafter, their home in Nictaux became a center for Baptists of the area. Major Parker had much to do, as well, with the laying out and construction of the roads in the county. More on Baptist history in NIctaux here.

From an earlier version of the the Mapannapolis story-map displaying heritage property by year, in this case the period between 1800 and 1830. Major Parker's home in Nictaux was built before 1811. Nictaux comes from the Mi'kmaq word Niktak, meaning 'The forks of a river'.

Discover more about Annapolis County's built heritage —- including an all-new story-map at mapannapolis.ca