| Cornwallis River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Nova Scotia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | North Mountain |
| Mouth | |
• location | Minas Basin |
• elevation | sea level |
| Length | 48 km (30 mi) |
TheCornwallis River is inKings County, Nova Scotia,Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 48 kilometres (30 mi)[1] through eastern Kings County, from its source on theNorth Mountain atGrafton[2] to its mouth nearWolfville on theMinas Basin. The lower portion of the river beginning atKentville is tidal and there are extensivetidal marshes in the lower reaches. In its upper watershed atBerwick, the river draws on the Caribou Bog while a longer branch continues to the official source, a stream on the North Mountain at Grafton.
The original peoples of the area, theMi'kmaq, knew it asThe Narrow River, orChijekwtook(pronounced, "Gee-gee-wok-tuk").[3] There are also references to the Mi'kmaq calling the riverJijuktu'kwejk.[4][5] The river served as part of the Mi'kmaq travel route between the Minas Basin and the Annapolis Basin.[5]
The river was namedRiviere St. Antoine[6] bySamuel de Champlain after his arrival in the New World in the early 17th Century. Later it was called theRiviere des Habitants[7] by theAcadians, who built a series of settlements around its mouth including the village ofGrand-Pré and a smaller settlement further up the river atNew Minas.[8] The Acadians also built extensive dykelands in the area, although there is no clear evidence that therunning dykes beside the river were built by them.[9]
Followingthe Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, the area was settled byNew England Planters in 1760 who named the river after the townships established along its banks. The river became known as theHorton River.[10] afterHorton Township, the major Planter settlement at the mouth of the river, named after the ancestral home ofGeorge Montagu-Dunk, the official in charge of English settlement in Nova Scotia. However, in the 19th century, settlement and commercial growth moved upriver to the Kentville area inCornwallis Township,[11] named afterEdward Cornwallis, first governor of Nova Scotia. As a result, the river assumed the nameCornwallis River by 1829.[12]
![Annapolis Valley First Nation 2011-05-03 Do Hereby Resolve: Whereas, British Governor Edward Cornwallis made known his hatred and contempt for our Mi'kmaq ancestors by deciding on October 1, 1749, to try to exterminate them by offering bounties for their scalps, a barbarous endeavour that is witnessed by the fact that the monetary reward he offered included to be paid for the scalps of women and children. And, when he reported his actions his [sic] supervisors in London he used the words "It would be better to root the Micmac out of the peninsula decisively and forever." Further, he had three British militias in the business of harvesting Mi'kmaq scalps. Two were disbanded in 1751, because many of the scalps that they were presenting to officials to collect bounties were deemed to be of Caucasian origin. Gorham's Rangers continued to function. Therefore, we the Chief and Councillors of the Annapolis Valley Mi'kmaq Band, finding it an insult to the dignity of our people to have a river flowing by our Indian Reserve, which was named the Cornwallis River by colonial English officials to honour Governor Edward Cornwallis, demand that the name of the river be reverted back to Jijuktu'kwejk (Narrow River), the name it carried for close to 9,000 years before the White man invaded our homeland.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAnnapolis_Valley_First_Nations_Band_Council_resolution.jpg)
The Mi'kmaq of Annapolis Valley First Nation in Cambridge, Nova Scotia, voted unanimously in 2011 to have the name revert to what they consider to be the original, historical Mi'kmaw name for the river, theJijuktu'kwejk.[13] Annapolis Valley First Nations Chief Brian Toney wants the name of the Cornwallis River changed. He said band members have to cross it every day and are reminded of Gov. Edward Cornwallis.[14] Cornwallis put a bounty on the scalps of natives, including women and children in 1749 during thefrontier warfare that followed the founding of Halifax. The proposal has led to a debate about renaming and the portrayal of history.[15][16]
The river was an important early transportation route, connected by aportage trail through the Berwick area to the headwaters of theAnnapolis River that was originally established by the Mi'kmaq.[5] Coastal schooners used landings and wharves along the river as far as Kentville[17] while larger sailing vessels and later steamships usedPort Williams for agricultural and timber exports. TheCornwallis Valley Railway, a branch line of theDominion Atlantic Railway, was named after the river in 1889, when it was built, crossing the river at Kentville.
TheAnnapolis Valley is an important agricultural district in Nova Scotia and depends on the river for irrigation and drainage. However heavy agricultural runoffs as well as municipal sewage have created severe pollution problems in the river. It was designated as one of Canada's ten most endangered rivers in 2002 and labelled as "little more than a farm sewer". A number of initiatives are currently underway to improve farm use of the river and upgrade municipal sewage systems along the river.[18] The communities of Wolfville, Port Williams,Kentville and Berwick all have sewage treatment facilities that discharge effluent into the river.
45°6′5″N64°21′54.7″W / 45.10139°N 64.365194°W /45.10139; -64.365194
