The Harbour at low tide

This photo shows where the Baxter's Harbour wharf used to be. All those rocks in the foreground anchored the wharf in place.

Gathering firewood by horse

This picture was taken in the winter of 1976-77, on the Wenega road. Shown are Isaac, Mary, Mike and Chris. Mike and Chris still live in the Harbour.

Building the six-sided house in the woods

Back in the mid-70s, several people built small homes in the woods behind Willie Schofield's place. One of these homes was six-sided, designed and built by myself and several friends, in the summer of 1975.

This is a double-exposure:


While I was away, the friends boarded in five of the six sides of the building over one weekend.

These two photos are a bit out of focus because they are photos of 30 year old slides projected onto a screen...


Shown are Peter, Mary, Mike, Wayne and Ian. Peter and Mike still live in the Harbour.

This house burned down in 1993.

Frozen Waterfall

This photo is of the falls in Baxter's Harbour . The ice formations on the falls in winter are amazing to see.

50 lbs

The writing on this photo says "50 lbs", presumably the weight of the fish being held on display.

Baxter's Harbour beach

The wharf would be just to the right of this beach area in the Harbour. In those days the buildings were right on the beach. They aren't there now.

Orange Sky In The Harbour

The sun setting over the Bay of Fundy .

Peddlers and Farmers bare in mind...

The sign says, "Peddlers and farmers bare in mind that I sell fish cheap under this sign. Don't forget to call at No. 5 F.K. Ells propriter".

The Baxter's Harbour wharf

The wharf was "L"-shaped, forming a protected little harbour. There is nothing left of this now, except the rocks piled under the first part of the wharf.

The sawmill at Paddy's Beach

Baxter's Harbour Waterfall [side view]

This photo is of the Baxter's Harbour Waterfall taken today June 14 2009. The water level of the falls vary through the seasons .

Schooner in Black Hole

This schooner is taking on a shipment of logs in Black Hole, just down the way from Baxter's Harbour. It has a unique design, with an opening in the bow for loading cargo directly from the water. Very handy in Black Hole, where there was no wharf and most cargo was loaded directly from the water, often after being thrown off a cliff into the sea.

Reflections on the Bay

The weather in the harbour today is dark and rainy unlike the picture of the clouds reflecting on the Bay.

Sunset Over The Bay

A sunset over the Bay of Fundy in Baxter's Harbour . This beautiful image was donated by Brownstone Photography. Thanks Andrew

Building the Baxter's Harbour Wharf

The Baxter's Harbour wharf survived until the winter of 1974-75 when it was taken out by a storm. All that remains of it now is some of the rocks that you see in this photo.

Dories on the beach

These dories are lined up on the Baxter's Harbour beach.

Fiddle Time

Here is a very small sample of the wonderful music after the supper on Saturday night . Turn up the speakers and enjoy !

The Saturday Chili and Fish Chowder Supper and Concert

Saturday June 6 was the Chili And Fish Chowder Community Supper and Concert in the Harbour. Various folks contributed chili (meat and meatless), fish chowder, salads, cake, pie, and apple crumble. There was also apple cider and coffee and tea to drink. Personally, I stuffed myself. I had to try everything!


The community hall is small and packed, I'm sure there were at least 50 people in a couple of shifts having dinner there. MLA Mark Parent dropped by for a quick bite and a bit of conversation with residents and visitors.


As folks finished there meals they moved out onto the deck to enjoy the warm spring evening. Mike was responsible for organizing the music for the concert, which commenced after dinner in the church across the road.


The church is quite lovely inside, very simple but great acoustics. A few of the pews had cushions, there was a bit of a rush to get a seat with a cushion.


I think there were eight musicians altogether, they were roughly organized into several bands, with lots of overlap in membership. Peter consented to MC the evening (and did a fine job of it!).


The music was a mix of Celtic, Old Time, Jazz and a little bit of Rock.

Paddy's Pub Session Band is made up of two Mikes, Aaron, Ariana, and Denise...


Rise Up Shannon is Mike, Aaron and Denise...


Trip A Lady (triple-A, D) is Aaron, Ariana, Andy and Denise...


Mike Milne played by himself and with friends (Andy and Aaron)...



Andy is quite the clown...


T@b is Ariana and Andy...



And finally there was Dennis and Friends, Jennifer and Mike...



It was a wonderful concert, everyone had a great time I am sure.

Crashing Waves

This picture was taken on a very windy day in June along the shore of the Bay Of Fundy . I just have to look at this picture and I hear the roar of the bay .

A view of the Harbour from the old bridge

The Baxter's Millworkers

These are the men who worked at the Baxter's sawmill.

Paddy's Beach logs

Most of the buildings in this photo burned down, but the one in the middle is still standing. It is among the little cottages that line the beach in Baxter's Harbour. The logs are piled up on the beach ready to be processed in the sawmill or shipped out.

A brief history of the Harbour

This rural area is located on the south side of the Bay of Fundy, on the North Mountain of Nova Scotia. It was named for Dr. William Baxter, or his son John B. Baxter who settled here in the early 19th century. This harbour may have been frequented by fishermen in 1780 or earlier. Dr. Baxter bought his land from David Eaton, around 1802. It was part of Cornwallis township which was granted in 1761. This part of the North Mountain was known as Baxter's Harbour Mountain.

Dr. Baxter built his house around 1802, and set up the Baxter Mill on the brook below his house. Johnathon Margeson was a schoolmaster in the Harbour in 1834. A schoolhouse was built in 1869, and a new one in 1906, but it burned down and was replaced with yet another new building in 1939. A way office was established in 1873 with John Baxter as the postmaster. A wharf was built in the Harbour, but a lot of shipping actually occurred from Black Hole, a little ways down the road. It had a much better harbour and steep cliffs surrounding it. Apparently they used to throw logs over the cliffs into the water and then load them from there into great sailing ships. There was never a wharf at Black Hole, goods were simply thrown over the cliff into the water.

The area has been logged over at least twice, it is in the process of being logged over a third time now. Families here engaged in logging, farming and even shipbuilding and shipping, all at once. They would load potatoes and logs onto a sailing ship and then sail down to the Caribbean to sell in the fall, certainly a dangerous trip given the kind of weather you get on the Atlantic Coast in the autumn. But in those days there was no railroad in Nova Scotia, everything was shipped via sailing ship from the many coastal ports.

The North Mountain was economically important because of all its ports, even farmers in the rich Valley below had to bring their produce up the Mountain to have it shipped out to the world. The railroad put an end to that, and the railroad was built as part of the deal that brought Nova Scotia into Confederation. Nova Scotia never saw economic good times again, becoming part of Canada was not the best thing that ever happened here.

A number of families in the Harbour have links with New Brunswick. Baxters and McCulleys are also found in the Kennebecasis Valley of NB. They sailed there from the Harbour, going up the Saint John river and then the Kennebecasis as far as the tide would allow them, and then settled there.

In 1956 the population of Baxter's Harbour was 112 souls. Today it is ???

If you can add to this or correct it please let us know!

The Baxter's Harbour Wharf

This photo shows the old Baxter's Harbour wharf, which isn't there anymore. This view is looking westward.