Hantspire
Hantspire (also known as: Hantspire County) is a small community in Nova Scotia and was formerly classified as a Village until 1991. It is now considered an unincorporated area of the municipal district of East Hants. There is no local governing body for this community at this time.
History
19th Century
The earliest records for settlers in this area show that the area was sparsely populated by farmers. For those who made their way inland this far, they were rewarded with bountiful crops from the rich soil. Due to being far from major villages and cities, there is little known about the early history of the area that would become Hantspire and Bishop Park. Those who lived in the area often did not leave any records of their lives except what remains of their houses and farmland. It wasn't until Lord Hantspire built his home in what would later become the Village of Hantspire that the area became more well known.
The village became briefly infamous due to a string of disappearances near what would one day be Bishop Park. Between 1892 and 1900 over 12 people went missing which created a stir in the nearby communities as word spread. One vaguely reported case from 1895 describes four businessmen who were looking for a place to establish a town that go missing after exploring the area. Locals at the time assumed they had gone home but records from Halifax indicate they never returned. Interestingly, once information spread about these cases, it led to an influx of settlers to the area, likely due to hearing about the rich land. Most accounts of this time period have concluded that the missing peoples were probably lost to the forest by either animal attack or by falling into streams while fetching water. No bodies were recovered at the time, and no remains have been found even today.
Hantspire Village
- Main article: Hantspire (Village)
Hantspire Village was established in 1899 by Lord Hantspire's advisor. Not many records have survived from this time period but it is believed that the advisor became the first council member for the village. Later the village council would have up to 12 members at any given time. They oversaw the development of the village as population rose to accommodate the growing number of farmers. Later they would help manage the village during the boom caused by the Bishop Park Research Centre.
The village was home to Samuel Bishop who established Bishop Park in 1902. Originally sent under the rule of Queen Victoria, he later was granted funding by King Edward VII to conduct in-depth research into the area. Once Bishop passed away his research was claimed by the local council and held until the Research Centre was established in 1946.
The Research Centre was a huge economic boom for the community and Hantspire seen its population soar into the thousands with many commuting into the village to work at the facility or the local businesses.
After the Bishop Park Research Centre was destroyed in 1980 the local economy plummeted. As a result the village was unincorporated due to the decline in population and lack of interest in self-governance. It is now managed by the district of East Hants and under the care of the RCMP as there is no local police force.
The HERS Station
- Main article: Hantspire Environmental Research Station
After becoming unincorporated the area seen a further decline in population and many businesses closed. Even many of the family farms closed after over a hundred years of operation. The people of Hantspire Village petitioned the government to build a new research station to stimulate the local economy during the 1990's and even got the help of a local environmental advocacy group to spread the word. In October of 1993 the premier of Nova Scotia, John Savage, announced plans to build a new conservation laboratory in Bishop Park. The lab was going to be state of the art and had an estimated budget of $1.2 million ($1.9 million adjusted for inflation). Construction of the lab began in April of 1994 and was completed on November 7th of the same year just before the ground began to freeze as winter set in. The station first began operation on November 21st with a staff of 40 which included 30 researchers.
By 2010 the funding for the station and the staff had been greatly reduced. From this time until now the station has seen very little progress be made in any field or area of research. As a result in February of 2019 the provincial government decided to cut funding for the facility and shutter its doors as soon as September 2020. This came as a disappointment to some, but many were nonplussed by the situation. Hantspire has since become forgotten relic of Canadian history and the exodus of residents since the 80's has reportedly long since killed any sense of local pride. There hasn't been a single published study from the lab since 2015.