Wolfville, Nova Scotia, is a charming Canadian town nestled in the Annapolis Valley of Kings County. Located approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax, the provincial capital, Wolfville is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. This tourist destination offers stunning views of Cape Blomidon, the Bay of Fundy, and Gaspereau Valley, and is renowned for its thriving wine industry.
The area now known as Wolfville was once a hunting ground for First Nations peoples, including the Clovis, Laurentian, Bear River, and Shields Archaic groups. They were drawn to the region by the salmon in the Gaspereau River and the agate stone at Cape Blomidon, which they used to make stone tools. The Mi'kmaq people, related to the Algonquin and Ojibwe peoples, migrated into Nova Scotia many centuries before European contact. They were seasonal hunters, using dogs and webbed snowshoes to hunt deer, and used semi-precious stones from the Blomidon area to make arrowheads.
The French attempted to establish a colony at Saint Croix Island in 1604, but later relocated to the Habitation at Port-Royal. The French and the Mi'kmaq established a reciprocal trading relationship that lasted until the mid-eighteenth century. French settlement in the Wolfville area began around 1680 when Pierre Melanson established his family at Grand-Pré. The Acadians, descendants of these settlers, prospered as farmers by enclosing the estuarine salt marshes with dykes and converting the reclaimed lands into fertile fields for crops and pasturage. However, Acadia was lost by the French crown after the English laid siege to Port Royal/Annapolis Royal in 1710.
Around 1760, the British government in Nova Scotia made several township plots of land available in the Annapolis Valley for colonization by English settlers. Horton Township was created in the Grand-Pré/Wolfville Area. The New England Planters, who moved north in search of fertile land at a reasonable price, set up a primarily agricultural economy. They settled and re-used the same dyke-lands as the Acadians had used before them, repairing and later expanding the agricultural dykes. The town of Mud Creek, later known as Wolfville, developed around the sheltered harbour on the Cornwallis River.
The Windsor and Annapolis Railway arrived in Wolfville in 1868, later becoming the Dominion Atlantic Railway. Wolfville became a seaport devoted principally to the export of apples from the orchards of the fertile Annapolis Valley. On March 20, 1893, the Town was incorporated, with E. Perry Bowles elected as its first mayor. In 1985, the town was declared a nuclear free zone. Wolfville was declared Canada's first fair trade town on April 17, 2007. In May 2016, Wolfville was designated as the third Cittaslow in Canada.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wolfville had a population of 5,057 living in 2,441 of its 2,856 total private dwellings, a change of 20.5% from its 2016 population of 4,195. With Acadia University having a full time student population of 3,765, the population can fluctuate greatly with the school semesters.
Wolfville is a hub of arts and culture, with the Acadia University Art Gallery and The Festival Theatre located on Main Street, along with many bistros and boutiques. The town's history is presented at the Randall House Museum, operated by the Wolfville Historical Society. Each year, the Annapolis Valley Music Festival is held at Acadia Campus, where musicians from across the valley compete. Wolfville hosts two annual arts festivals, the Deep Roots Music Festival in September and Devour! The Food Film Fest in late October.
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, is home to several beautiful parks, including Lumsden Pond Provincial Park, Reservoir Park, and Rotary Park. These green spaces offer residents and visitors alike the opportunity to enjoy the town's natural beauty and outdoor recreational activities.
