Westville

Westville (2006 pop.: 3,805|[1] ) is a town in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located immediately west of Stellarton and about four kilometres southwest of New Glasgow, the major town in the area.

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Contents
[hide] *1 History
 * 2 Amenities
 * 3 Notable residents
 * 4 References
 * }

edit] History
The name Westville was chosen because the community was west of the Albion Mines (now Stellarton).|[2]

Founded in 1894 by Aaron Mackay,[citation needed] Westville has a long history of coal mining dating back to 1864 when coal was first discovered. The opening of the Acadia Mine followed in 1866. Westville, along with Stellarton, was once home to a thriving coal mining industry. At its peak, during WWI, Westville boasted three underground workings; the Black Diamond, the Acadia, and the Drummond. However, the last underground mine, the Drummond pit, closed in the 1970s. Extensive open-pit mining on the Drummond and Acadia sites was carried out throughout the 1980s and 90s, by Pioneer Coal Limited of Antigonish, NS.

Like many coal towns Westville was a hotbed of sports. Baseball was very popular among the miners. One of the Westville baseball teams was crowned Maritime champion in 1927 and the legendary Babe Ruth visited the town in 1936 and hit a ball over the centre field fence. The town also sponsored championship cricket, lacrosse, football and hockey teams.

In the early 1900s Westville also boasted the largest natural ice skating rink east of Montreal. Today the miner's monument at Acadia Park honoring those touched by the town's mining disasters, and a community centre is all that remains of its proud coal mining heritage.

edit] Amenities
While mainly a bedroom community, Westville's Main Street features banks, shops, restaurants and a recently renovated and renamed Foodland supermarket, as well as the newly built Lawtons, which is attached to the local doctor's office in the community. A Nova Scotia highway rest stop was opened at the end of Cowan Street off exit 21 of the Trans-Canada Highway. It includes Dairy Queen and Tim Hortons outlets and a Visitor Information Centre. A car dealership moved from New Glasgow to an expanded location at exit 21 a few years after the rest stop opened. Another dealership relocated to exit 21 from Stellarton in 2008.

One of the three remaining[citation needed] drive-in theaters in the province is located on the northern edge of town on the Westville Highway. The other two are in Sydney and Cambridge Station (near Berwick).

One of the largest Canada Day celebrations in Atlantic Canada takes place in Westville. The five day event provides all the fun of a county fair plus a giant street parade with annual guest bands from around the world. The year 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of Westville's Canada Day celebrations.

edit] Notable residents
Westville is the home of Alvah Mayo, seven time Nova Scotia Chess Champion,|[3] Kris MacFarlane, the drummer of Great Big Sea and the late Russell MacEwan, Lawyer, Member of Parliament and Judge.