Liverpool, Nova Scotia, is a Canadian community and former town nestled along the Atlantic Ocean on the South Shore of the province. It is part of the Region of Queens Municipality, the local governmental unit that encompasses all of Queens County, Nova Scotia.
Liverpool's harbour, known as Ogomkigeak or "dry sandy place" by the native Mi'kmaq, was an ancient seasonal camp. Samuel de Champlain originally named the harbour Port Rossignol in honour of Captain Rossignol, an early 17th-century founder of New France in North America. Later, Nicolas Denys, a pioneering French explorer and trader, was granted land here by the leader of Acadia, Isaac de Razilly, around 1632.
Following the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755 during the French and Indian War, Liverpool was founded by New England Planters as a fishing port in 1759. It was initially named Lingley after Admiral Charles Lingley, then renamed after Liverpool in England. Silvanus Cobb, an original proprietor of the town, played a significant role in the town's early development.
Liverpool's struggle for identity during the revolutionary war has been the subject of considerable study by historians. Initially sympathetic to the American Revolution, the town turned against the rebellion after repeated attacks by American privateers on local shipping interests and the town itself. The defence of the town and the outfitting of privateers was led by Colonel Simeon Perkins.
During the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812, Liverpool financed and manned many privateer vessels. The port was notable for such privateer vessels as the brig Rover and the schooner Liverpool Packet, mariners such as Joseph Barss, and ships' chandlers and merchants such as Enos Collins and Simeon Perkins.
During the nineteenth century, Liverpool became a major seaport as the fishing and shipbuilding industries grew. The town also became a leading exporter of timber, which was floated down the Mersey River from the inland forests of the Lake Rossignol watershed. However, the mid-nineteenth-century move toward steam-powered vessels and the collapse of the local Bank of Liverpool in 1871 severely hurt the town's economy.
Liverpool's fortunes were temporarily revived in the 1920s when it became a centre for rum-runners shipping alcohol to the United States during its period of prohibition. More significant growth took place in 1929 when the Mersey Pulp and Paper Mill was completed in the adjoining village of Brooklyn. In 1996, Liverpool disincorporated as a town and merged with the Municipality of the County of Queens to form the Region of Queens Municipality.
Liverpool is situated on the Atlantic coast along Nova Scotia's South Shore. The community primarily occupies the west bank of the mouth of the Mersey River and faces the smaller community of Brooklyn on the east bank of the River. Liverpool is located along Trunk Route 3 ("The Lighthouse Route") and at the junction of major Highway 103 (at Exit 19) and Trunk Route 8 ("The Kejimkujik Scenic Drive").
Despite its seaside location, Liverpool has a relatively mild humid continental climate typical of the province. The highest temperature ever recorded in Liverpool was 36.7 °C (98 °F) on 22 August 1976. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −35.6 °C (−32 °F) on 18 February 1922.
Tourism has become increasingly important to Liverpool and the South Shore region in recent decades. Liverpool has a large number of museums for a small community, including the Queens County Museum, the Perkins House, the Museum of Justice, the Hank Snow Home Town Museum, and two private museums run by Nova Scotian photographer Sherman Hines. The Fort Point Lighthouse, the third oldest lighthouse in Nova Scotia, contains a lighthouse museum and is surrounded by a public park. Liverpool has also become a summer break destination for residents of Halifax due to its warm weather and nearby sandy beaches.
