- Once part of Beaver River, Port Maitland’s first name was Green Cove. In 1869 it was named “Maitland” for Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, 1828-34. A village in Hants County was also called Maitland, causing great confusion in the mails and the consigning of goods. As Green Cove was a port, the problem was corrected in about 1880 by calling this village “Port Maitland”.
- Port Maitland had a newspaper called “The Bluenose”, first published by Thomas Curry in 1904. It survived for three years, then folded for lack of public support.
History
Joseph Sollows, one of the earliest settlers, came to Port Maitland in the early 19th century. His land grant covered about a third of the village. Sollows built his home near the town wharf and operated a general store. Another early settler, a Scots woman named Mary McGray Rose, was the first doctor in Port Maitland, being a country herbalist and medicine woman. Mary owned a white saddle horse which she rode in all weathers to reach the sick. Early houses were often built on hills and when medical help was needed, a large brush fire was lit to summon aid.
The Great Fire of 1820 that destroyed Beaver River increased the population of Green Cove (Port Maitland’s original name) as many businesses moved there. The first school was destroyed by fire in 1859. The second school was held in the Pitticus Temperance Division Hall, located on the corner of the Quaco Road and Main Street.
Names found in early documents include Sollows, Rose, Landers, Goudey, Jeffery, Pitman, Byrnes, Sanders, Trask, Perry, Raymond and Kelly.
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