Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

Bird's Eye view of Annapolis Royal & Granville Nova Scotia 1878, showing the town in its golden years as railway terminus with the Annapolis Royal Station, wharf, railyard and enginehouse

Subdivision Kentville, Mile 58.4, Elevation 30'
Subdivision Yarmouth, Mile 0, Elevation 30'
Next Station East: Round Hill
Next Station West: Upper Clements

Facilities & Features

Annapolis Royal Station D.A.R.scheduled stop from 1894 to 1990
Annapolis Royal Enginehouse
Annapolis Royal Water Tower
Annapolis Royal Freight Shed
Annapolis Royal Railyard
Annapolis Royal Railway Wharf
Annapolis Royal Bridge
St. George Street Overpass
Passing track 1167' long (1969).
Wye at this point (1969).

Commerce & Industry

Description & History

Originally known as Port Royal, the port served as the capital of Acadia until captured by the British in 1710 and renamed Annapolis Royal. The capital of Nova Scotia was shifted to Halifax in 1749 leaving Annapolis Royal as a garrison town and shipping point for western Nova Scotia. Wooden shipbuilding grew in the 1850s. The arrival of regional steamships in the 1860s made the town an important steamship connection point and coaling station between Saint John and Boston. The town boomed in 1869 when it became the terminus of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway. The railway built extensive terminal facilities at Annapolis Royal centred around a large railway wharf. The railway stimulated several factories and population grew to over 1,500 in the 1870s. Annapolis Royal incorporated as a town in 1893. However, with the completion of the railway to Digby in 1893, Annapolis Royal ceased to be a terminus as most traffic bypassed the town. The the new Dominion Atlantic Railway shifted shifted most of the steamship commerce to Digby and Yarmouth where larger steel-hulled vessels required deeper waters. Annapolis Royal became a small country town with some lumber and apple exports, although a growing tourism industry in the 20th century drew on the long and colourful colonial history of the town.

Gallery

Annapolis Royal circa 1890s.
Annapolis Royal circa 1890s.
Annapolis Royal circa 1890s.
The W & A wharf at Annapolis Royal, circa 1890.
SS Evangeline arriving at Annapolis Royal, circa 1890.
The Annapolis Royal Station, circa 1890-1900.
Windsor & Annapolis Railway engraving of the Annapolis Royal Wharf, 1893.
Transferring passengers and mail from wreck of Train No. 95, at Moschelle, near Annapolis Royal, January 25, 1921.
Transferring baggage from wreck of Train No. 95, at Moschelle, near Annapolis Royal, January 25, 1921.
Track Schematic for Annapolis Royal.
Postcard published by the DAR of Fort Anne historic site, 1903.
Annapolis Royal, 1975.