Chester, Nova Scotia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Chester is an incorporated Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

village located in and part of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County

Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg County is a county located on the South Shore of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, It ranges from Hubbards to the east and Vogler's Cove to the west.-History:...

History

Chester was officially founded in 1759 during the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

. It was the Shoreham grant, although French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

fishermen had already built a few houses on the site. The first permanent European-descended settlers were a group

New England Planters

The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion...

from Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

who came to the area in 1761.

During the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, the village avoided a raid by American Privateers through the "rouge ruse" wherein the townswomen, young and old, garbed in cloaks with their red lining worn outwards marched in an early morning of 30 June 1782 to successfully convince American Privateers lying offshore to find another place to pillage. The following day the privateers successfully executed the Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782)

Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782)

Not to be confused with the Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the American Revolution when the famous American Privateer Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia...

During the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, the American Privateer Young Teazer

Young Teazer

The Young Teazer was an American privateer schooner that the 74-gun third rate trapped in a naval battle off Chester, Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. Young Teazer was under the command of William D. Dobson and Hogue was under the command of Captain Thomas Bladen Capel...

was trapped off the shores of Chester by the HMS Hogue (1811)

HMS Hogue (1811)

HMS Hogue was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 October 1811 at Deptford.During the War of 1812, while under the command of Thomas Bladen Capel, the HMS Hogue successfully trapped the American Privateer Young Teazer of the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.She was...

. To avoid capture, a crew member of the Young Teazer destroyed his own ship, killing most of the crew.

Chester is one of the wealthiest communities in the province as a result of being a vacation and resort destination, with many seasonal and year-round estates and mansions. The nearby waters of Mahone Bay

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Mahone Bay is a town located on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County.- History :...

and its numerous islands are well known for yachting

Yachting

Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...

and have made Chester into a cruising

Cruising

Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...

destination. A Provincial ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

from the village provides a schedule of daily trips to Big Tancook Island

Big Tancook Island

Big Tancook Island is a Canadian island located off the coast of Nova Scotia. The island is one of the 365 islands dotting Mahone Bay. It measures approximately long and wide, forming roughly a "C" shape. The island is separated from nearby Little Tancook Island to the east by a wide strait...

and Little Tancook Island

Little Tancook Island

Little Tancook Island is a Canadian island located off the coast of Nova Scotia. The island is one of the 365 islands dotting Mahone Bay. The island is long by wide and is roughly triangular in shape. It is separated from Big Tancook Island by the wide strait called "The Chops"...

.

Chester was the site of a controversial proposal to change status of the village. A committee had been formed in hopes of changing the status of Chester by incorporating as a town, thereby leaving the Chester Municipal District. Many residents of the village under the banner "Citizens for Fairness" successfully fought the motion on the principle that the majority of citizens, by ballot, should decide such a fundamental change. Some also saw the possibility of higher taxes, costs for a town hall, a mayor, and water and sewage services as reasons to not incorporate. They won the right to a plebiscite in the fall of 2002 from the Nova Scotia Legislature. The motion was defeated in a public plebiscite on February 22, 2003.

Geography

The village is situated on the Chester Peninsula, which extends into Mahone Bay

Mahone Bay

Mahone Bay is a bay located on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County.Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, its eastern shore is formed by the Aspotogan Peninsula and its western shore is formed by the First Peninsula...

.

The village has two natural harbours, Front Harbour (including Front Cove) on the east and Back Harbour (including Back Cove or Mill Cove) on the west. The village is also immediately south of Stanford Lake.

Schools

Chester has an elementary school, Chester District School (grades Primary–5) and a middle school, Chester Area Middle School or CAMS as it is known (grades 6–9). Forrest Heights Community School brings together students from New Ross and Chester for grades 10–12.

Festivals and events

The village is home to the Chester Playhouse one of the best-known community theaters on Nova Scotia's South Shore. Chester is well known for its annual summer sailing regatta, Chester Race Week, where keelboats from all over the eastern coast of North America compete during the second week of August. In the last weekend of July there is the annual Chester Garden Show and the House and Garden Tour along with harbour tours. Also that weekend is the famous Bonnie Lea Lobster benefit. Winter is a time for events including Sing! Choirs" in December and February's "Coldest Day" variety fundraiser.
There are a number of public boat launch sites around Mahone Bay. The waters are fine for kyaking and sailing. For walkers and cyclists there is also the Chester Connector which is a municipal operated section of the previous rail line and which is shared with motorized recreational vehicles.

Movies

Scenes for several films, miniseries, movies of the week, and television shows have been shot in and around Chester:

Echoes of a Summer
Echoes of a Summer
-Plot:The eleven-year-old Deirdre suffers from an incureable heart trouble. For two years, her parents Eugene and Ruth have consulted heart specialists - but without any success. Now they have gone to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia to arrange for her last days as pleasant as possible...

(1976)
The Secret (1992)
Dolores Claiborne
Dolores Claiborne (film)
Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, starring Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by Taylor Hackford.-Plot:...

(1995, exterior of Vera Donovan's)
Two if by Sea
Two If by Sea
Two If by Sea is a 1996 romantic comedy feature starring Sandra Bullock, Denis Leary, Stephen Dillane and Yaphet Kotto. It was directed by Bill Bennett and written by Ann Lembeck, Mike Armstrong and Denis Leary.- Plot :...

(1996)
Black Harbour
Black Harbour
Black Harbour is a Canadian television series, which ran on CBC Television from 1996 to 1999.The show starred Rebecca Jenkins as Katherine Hubbard, a successful restaurant owner who returned to live in her Nova Scotia hometown to be with her mother who had suffered a heart attack. Her husband...

(1996)
Love and Death on Long Island
Love and Death on Long Island
Love and Death on Long Island is a 1997 UK / Canadian film directed by Richard Kwietniowski and starring Jason Priestley, John Hurt, Fiona Loewi, Sheila Hancock and Anne Reid....

(1997)
Catch a Falling Star (2000)
The Weight of Water
The Weight of Water (film)
The Weight of Water is a 2000 film based on the novel of the same name by Anita Shreve. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film stars Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley, Sarah Polley, Josh Lucas and Catherine McCormack...

(2000)
Deeply
Deeply
Deeply is a 2000 movie directed by Sheri Elwood, starring Julia Brendler, Lynn Redgrave and Kirsten Dunst.-Synopsis:Claire McKay —having suffered the death of her boyfriend—is brought by her mother to Ironbound Island in the hopes that time away from the city will allow her to recover emotionally...

Lynn Redgrave and Kirsten Dunst; East Ironbound Is., etc. (2000)
Blackfly
Blackfly
Blackfly, black-fly, or black fly may refer to:*Black fly, a fly of the family Simuliidae*Blackfly , a 2001 Canadian comedy series*Aphid or blackfly...

(2001)
A Town Without Christmas (2001)
Beach Girls (2005)
Candles On Bay Street
Candles on Bay Street
Candles on Bay Street is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Alicia Silverstone as a single mother who returns to her hometown after a lengthy absence.-Plot:...

(2006)
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...

(2008)

TV shows

Haven
Haven (TV series)
Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, is an American/Canadian co-production. The one-hour drama premiered on July 9, 2010, on Syfy...

Syfy Series currently filming in Chester, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and Hubbards, Nova Scotia

External links

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