Mabou -Mȧbu is a small 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...

 rural community located in Inverness County

Inverness County, Nova Scotia

Inverness County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its territory is almost contiguous with the Municipality of Inverness County, which only excludes the town of Port Hawkesbury and First Nation reserves.-History:...

 on the west coast 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 Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

. The population in 2001 was 1,289 residents.

The name Mabou is thought to derive from Mi'kmaq

Mi'kmaq language

The Mi'kmaq language is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 9,100 Mi'kmaq in Canada and the United States out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000. The word Mi'kmaq is a plural word meaning 'my friends' ; the adjectival form is Míkmaw...

 name "Malabo", shortened from "Malabokek", meaning "place where two rivers meet" (the Mabou and Southwest Mabou rivers). It is also thought to mean "Shining Waters".

The village is renowned for its hospitality, beauty and cultural strength.

The community is located at the head of an inlet off the Gulf of St. Lawrence named "Mabou Harbour" and is surrounded by low mountains which are part of the Creignish Hills. During the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century Mabou's primary economic activity was underground coal mining with several collieries located in the surrounding area. The Inverness and Richmond Railway

Inverness and Richmond Railway

The Inverness and Richmond Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.The I&R traces its history to 1874 when the Inverness Railway Company was incorporated, changing its name to the Inverness Coal Field and Railway Company in 1875 and to the...

 opened in 1901 to connect the mines in Mabou and Inverness

Inverness, Nova Scotia

Inverness is a Canadian rural community in Inverness County, Nova Scotia. In 2001 its population was 2,496.Located on the west coast of Cape Breton Island fronting the Gulf of St...

 to wharves in Mabou and Port Hastings.

Mining activity ceased following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the railway was abandoned during the late 1980s. Today Mabou is primarily a fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 port for a small fleet of lobster

Lobster

Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...

 boats. It also hosts a high school serving central Inverness County. It is also a very strong community with many farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

s.

The Rankin Family

The Rankin Family

The Rankin Family is a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four SOCAN Awards, three Canadian Country Music Awards and two Big Country Music Awards.- Career...

, a renowned group of singers-songwriters, proprietors of the local pub The Red Shoe along with former Premier of Nova Scotia

Premier of Nova Scotia

The Premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister for the Canadian province of Nova Scotia who presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of the political party which has the most seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly...

, Rodney MacDonald

Rodney MacDonald

Rodney Joseph MacDonald is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th Premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 to 2009....

 hail from Mabou.

Mabou is also the home of the An Drochaid

An Drochaid

The An Drochaid Museum and Historical Society was formed in 1980 and is located in Mabou, Nova Scotia. The museum and historical society was founded to catalogue and support Gaelic culture in the Mabou area. It also functions as keeping records of Mabou’s history...

Museum, which houses Mabou's history, cultural artifacts and records for public viewing.

External links

• Local website
• Mabou River (photos)
• Essay Southwest Mabou River
• Essay Mabou Lighthouse (by Mary Anne Ducharme)
• Mabou Harbour (photo)