Historic Dartmouth is a fascinating glimpse of this charming city's social, economic, and cultural life over the last two centuries. From its beginning as a settlement of British immigrants on an Aboriginal campsite in 1750, Dartmouth's growth was uncertain and sporadic. In 1759, it was used as a temporary billet for Wolfe's troops before his attack on Quebec; in 1785 it was, briefly, the home of the influential Nantucket Whaling Company; and in 1826 the building of the Shubenacadie Canal gave it new life until the coming of the railway in 1870.

Finally incorporated as a town in 1873, Dartmouth's location on the east side of Chebucto Harbour, and its thousands of inland lakes and rivers, made it an ideal place for thriving communities, and a destination for leisure and pleasure seekers. Its "golden era" at the turn of the nineteenth century is the focus of this book.

Ghost Islands of Nova Scotia, Mike's fourteenth book, completes a trilogy, joining his two most recent best-sellers - Gold Rush Ghost Towns of Nova Scotia and Buried in the Woods: Sawmill Ghost Towns of Nova Scotia (see page 9). Mike has been researching, writing and talking about his native province for more than 25 years, during which time he has earned many accolades including being known as Nova Scotia's storyteller. In addition to offering heritage programs and services through Old Days, Old Ways, Mike is a research associate affiliated with the Gorsebrook Research Institute For Atlantic Canada Studies at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

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