Antigonish County is a rural community steeped in a unique heritage. Mi'kmaq have lived here for hundreds of years; they were joined in the eighteenth century by Acadians, Loyalists—including Black Loyalists—and settlers from New England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Historic Antigonish: Town and County bears witness, in photographs and detailed captions, to this cultural diversity and its many benefits. This is a book not about landscape or politics--although both have naturally affected life here--but about the countless individuals whose everyday lives shaped the area's evolution, people like John Boyd, founder of the Casket; Lottie Melanson, champion sheepshearer; Alex MacDonald, the "Klondike King"; and Katie MacEachern, a gifted midwife. From the raising of St. Joseph's Church to the fiery destruction and resurrection of Mount St. Bernard, local events, businesses, and, above all, people are captured and honoured in this wide-ranging tribute to Antigonish town and county.

Dr. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell, currently chair of the History Department at St. Francis Xavier University, is a specialist in Maritime Canada and has published works relating to its medical, religious, and social history.

Laurie Stanley-Blackwell's profile page

The late Dr. Ray MacLean (1927-2004), one-time chair and member of the History Department at St. Francis Xavier University, authored several books on Maritime Canada, including the much-acclaimed Beyond the Atlantic Roar (1924).

Ray MacLean's profile page