Clark's Harbour is a charming town nestled on Cape Sable Island in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is part of Shelburne County and is renowned for its lobster fishing industry. The town's rich history as a fishing community has earned it the distinction of being the birthplace of the Cape Islander fishing boat. As the southernmost town in Nova Scotia, and one of the southernmost in Canada, Clark's Harbour is roughly on a parallel with Bilbao, Basque Country, and just north of Rome.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Clark's Harbour had a population of 725, living in 362 of its 399 total private dwellings. This represented a change of -4.4% from its 2016 population of 758. With a land area of 2.82 km2 (1.09 sq mi), the town had a population density of 257.1/km2 (665.9/sq mi) in 2021.
Clark's Harbour boasts an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) with milder winters than the mainland. The town experiences a significant seasonal lag, with September having the warmest year-round lows and warmer daytime weather compared to July.
The Clark's Harbour Branch Library, located at 2648 Main Street, is one of the 10 branches of Western Counties Regional Library. It joined the Western Counties Regional Library in July 1971, but it did not have a physical location in Clark's Harbour until the first branch opened on March 4, 1974. The branch was relocated to its present site as part of the Clark's Harbour Civic Centre on December 11, 2007.
One of the more notable attractions in Clark's Harbour is the United Baptist Stone Church, a popular destination for visitors due to its unique architecture. The Stone Church was first started on September 5, 1921, by Lieutenant-Governor MacCallum Grant. The foundation is made of native granite, three feet in thickness, all cut by hand using chisels. The walls are made of cobblestones gathered from the shore and surrounding islands. This church is eighty-five feet by fifty-five feet and has a seating capacity of five hundred. The inside of the church is decorated in rich wood, and the windows are stained glass. Thomas Doucette was given the task of constructing the Stone Church from blueprints designed by a Halifax architect named S.P. Dumaresq. Despite being illiterate, Doucette built the church after having the blueprints read to him only once. It took ten years to complete the erection of the church.
