Mount Uniacke | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Mount Uniacke

Mount Uniacke, NS, Unincorporated Place. Mount Uniacke is located in central Nova Scotia 35 km west of Halifax, on the highest point between Yarmouth and Halifax. Rivers flow from here south to the Atlantic and north into the Minas Basin.

Mount Uniacke, NS, Unincorporated Place. Mount Uniacke is located in central Nova Scotia 35 km west of Halifax, on the highest point between Yarmouth and Halifax. Rivers flow from here south to the Atlantic and north into the Minas Basin.

In 1784 Richard John Uniacke, attorney general of Nova Scotia, 1797-1830, was granted 4000 ha on the Windsor road. He named the home that he built on that land Uniacke House after the home of his Irish grandfather. It was frequented by Halifax high society and visited by the elite of England, such as Edward, Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria. Now a provincial Historic Site, it is considered perhaps the most interesting example of colonial architecture in Canada.

In 1865 gold was discovered at Mount Uniacke and from 1866 to 1910 the mines were worked. Other industries of this village are lumbering and limited farming. In the past 20 years its population has grown considerably owing to its low tax base and its easy commuting distance to Halifax.