Blandford

History

edit] Origins
The community is probably named after John Church Hill (1650-1722), Marquess of Blandford.

One of the first settlers of Blandford was George Casper Zinck (c.1764 - ), the son of a German speaking immigrant. George first lived in Lunenburg and then after the American Raid on Lunenburg (1782) during the American Revolution, George moved to nearby Rose Bay before finally settling in Blandford at the age of 20 (1784). He married and then had his first child the following year.

Along with German settlers, there were also Jewish settlers to Blandford. More likely at least some of the Jewish family Levy in this part of Nova Scotia are descended from Nathaniel Levy who was in Halifax by 1759.

Apparently after his first wife died in 1771 he moved to Chester where he married again 1773 (Susannah Tufts). They had four children before he died in May 1787 at Chester. One of his sons, Gershom, married in 1796 (Catherine Barbara Graves). They had three sons before he died in 1801 at Chester. Two of his sons, David (born 1797) and Nathan (born 1798) settled in Tancook Island during the early nineteenth century. It has been suggested that Nathaniel Levy was the son of Nathan Levy, a Jewish merchant who was in Philadelphia in 1746 (Punch, 1981). It may be that Nathaniel Levy was in the colony to oversee the interests of the firm Levy and Frank of Philadelphia, one of the firms that provided the new colony with supplies and credit (Fergusson, 1971:46).

The village of Deep Cove was first settled by John (Johannes) Meisner (1789-1872) and John Seaburg (Seaboyer) in 1838. John Meisner owned the first gristmill which was built on the north side of Deep Cove. Meisner’s Point on the Upper Blandford road still retains his name.

The person who Mathias Hill, Bovens Lake, and Jimmy’s Island in Deep Cove is named after is unknown.

When settlers first arrived at Blandford, in the winter they were able to walk over the ice to Tancook and to Chester. In 1845, Charles Lordly, Esq had goods hauled from Shoal Cove (Blandford) by three pairs of oxen and two horses over the ice to Tancook. The ice was cut with axes to a depth of two feet without finding water. The following month he had molasses and barrels of four[clarification needed] hauled over the ice to Chester. Mr. Arch Zinck reported the last time people were able to walk to Tancook over the ice was 1932.

edit] Fenian Raids
To ward off the threat of possible Fenian raids (1866-71), a volunteer regiment was raised in Blandford.|[1] The troop of men did drills on what was once the field of Morton Publicover (Civic #?). Among these men were Jim Gates, George Roast and Will Gates.

The Fenian movement sought to bring about Irish independence from Britain. At the end of the American Civil War, Fenians in the United States determined to recruit veterans of the war, invade and capture Canada, and force Britain to negotiate the independence of Ireland. There were a number of alarms in 1865, 1866 and 1870. There was a medal given for service in the Volunteer Regiments.

Regimental troops were raised in every county across Nova Scotia. While New Brunswick and Ontario did sustain attacks, Nova Scotia did not. Perhaps to amplify the importance of the local regiment, folklore in the community includes a story of a Fenian attack by sea at Big Cove that was thwarted by the Mi’kmaq.|[1]

edit] Cyrus Eaton
One of the most renowned people to make Deep Cove their home was Cyrus Eaton, a millionaire industrialist, who was originally from Pugwash, Nova Scotia, but lived in Ohio. He bought a large piece of land in Blandford between 1931 – 1933. The estate covered woodland, run-down farms, and a number of lakes. Mr. Eaton turned this estate into a sanctuary for Canadian Geese. The Canadian Geese still remain here all winter and can often be seen walking down the road or swimming just off shore. In the 1950s, a successful banker, businessman and philanthropist, Cyrus Eaton, was raising Mallard ducks and Canada geese in the vicinity of Hollahan Lake. In 1959 the area became a wildlife sanctuary where these birds could feed undisturbed. Hunting of waterfowl and game birds was prohibited. In 2007 it became a protected area under the Special Places Protection Act, giving the sanctuary the province's highest level of protection of plants and animals. Access is restricted to visitors on foot. The reserve contains a wide variety of habitats and is home to some rare lichens, mosses, and vascular plants, not the least of which is an extensive Jack Pine barrens. Blandford Nature Reserve is the province's 16th nature reserve and is the first of its kind in Lunenburg County. Mr. Eaton entertained extensively during the summer when he resided in Blandford. Many of his guests were celebrities; one such guest was Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. At his death in 1979, his estate was purchased by a group of businessmen from Germany &nbsp