Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, is a charming community nestled in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Canada. Once an independent town from 1901 to 1995, Glace Bay was amalgamated into the larger regional municipality, becoming an integral part of the area known as Industrial Cape Breton.
The history of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, dates back to the 1720s when the French settled in the area to supply the Fortress of Louisbourg with coal. The location was named "baie de Glace" due to the sea ice that filled the ocean each winter.
In 1748, following the capture of Fortress Louisbourg, the British constructed Fort William at Table Head to protect a coal mine. The fort remained in service until 1752 when it was destroyed by fire.
The more permanent settlement of Glace Bay began around 1818 when Walter Blackett obtained a land grant on the south side of the Bay. Coal mining existed on a small scale until the 1860s, when four mines were in operation within the future town boundaries.
The town of Glace Bay was officially formed in 1901, with a population of 6,945. By the 1940s, the population had grown to over 28,000, making Glace Bay Canada's largest town. However, with the decline of the coal industry, the population decreased to 16,984 by 2001.
Today, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, is home to slightly fewer than 20,000 people. The town has seen a shift from its industrial roots, with the opening of a call centre operated by Stream Global Services in 2001.
The nearby community of Donkin has seen the revival of the coal industry with the development of an abandoned mine site by the Donkin Coal Development Alliance, now owned by Kameron Collieries, a subsidiary of Cline Group LLC.
The Marconi National Historic Site of Canada, located at Table Head in Glace Bay, commemorates the role of Guglielmo Marconi in the development of radio communications. In December 1902, Marconi transmitted the first complete messages to Poldhu from stations at Glace Bay.
The Cape Breton Miners Museum, located near downtown Glace Bay, offers a glimpse into the town's mining history. The museum offers underground mine tours and is home to The Men of the Deeps choir.
Glace Bay is characterized by its heavily forested and hilly landscape. The town is surrounded by marshes, bogs, and rocky cliffs along the coast. Erosion continues to be a problem in some areas, and former coal mines are experiencing subsidence as old mine shafts collapse.
Glace Bay is rich in biodiversity, with a variety of mammals, birds, and reptiles. The town and surrounding areas are heavily forested, with common trees including poplar, maples, birches, spruce, and balsam.
Glace Bay experiences a humid continental climate, with cool summers and windy, wet, and stormy winters. The community's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean significantly moderates the climate, resulting in strong seasonal lag.
Glace Bay offers a variety of attractions for visitors, including the Savoy Theatre, Cape Breton Miners Museum, Marconi Museum, Miners Village, Renwick Brook Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Glace Bay Heritage Museum, and John Bernard Croak Memorial Park.
