Bible Hill, Nova Scotia

Coordinates: 45°22′32″N 63°15′37″W / 45.37556°N 63.26028°W / 45.37556; -63.26028
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Village of Bible Hill
Wi'kwampekwitk
Coat of arms of Village of Bible Hill
Motto: 
Plant Your Roots[1]
Village of Bible Hill is located in Nova Scotia
Village of Bible Hill
Village of Bible Hill
Location of Bible Hill
Village of Bible Hill is located in Canada
Village of Bible Hill
Village of Bible Hill
Village of Bible Hill (Canada)
Coordinates: 45°22′32″N 63°15′37″W / 45.37556°N 63.26028°W / 45.37556; -63.26028
CountryCanada
ProvinceNova Scotia
MunicipalityColchester County
FoundedEarly 1700s
Incorporated1953
Government
 • Village ChairKevin Kennedy[2]
 • Governing BodyBible Hill Village Commission
 • MLADavid Ritcey[3]
 • MPDr. Stephen Ellis (C)[4]
Highest elevation
37 m (121 ft)
Lowest elevation
11 m (36 ft)
Population
 • Total5,076
Time zoneUTC−04:00 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−03:00 (ADT)
Postal code
B2N
Area code902
Telephone Exchanges893 ,897, 895
NTS Map011E06
GNBC CodeCACWS
Websitewww.biblehill.ca

Bible Hill (Mi'kmaq: Wi'kopekwitk) is an incorporated village in Colchester County, Nova Scotia.[6] It lies on the north bank of the Salmon River, opposite the town of Truro and the unincorporated community of Salmon River.

The village is home to Bible Hill Junior High School, Bible Hill Consolidated Elementary School,[7] Colchester Christian Academy, and the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture.

The Bible Hill Estates Trailer Park has been used as a filming location for the Trailer Park Boys television series service as the Sunnyvale Trailer Park.[8]

History[edit]

The name Bible Hill is derived from a prominent hill which rises above the flood plain on the grounds of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture (formerly the Nova Scotia Agricultural College) on the northern bank of the Salmon River.

It was believed that the hill took its name from Matthew Archibald (1745–1820), the son of one of the first Irish settlers in the area.[9] He was locally renowned for his piety and extensive use of the Bible. It was thought that the name of the hill on which he lived came from his use of the Bible.[10] It is suggested that name stuck when Joseph Howe coined the term on one of his visits to this house on the hill.[11] Contrary to this long-standing legend, the origin of the name is currently believed to have come from the work of Rev. Dr. William McCullough (1811–1895) several years later.[12]

Coincidentally, McCullough lived in the house built by Matthew Archibald many years earlier.[9] He was the minister of Truro's First Presbyterian church (now First United Church[13]) from 1839–1885, and had inherited an interest in Bible distribution from his father, Dr. Thomas McCullough, one of the founders of the Nova Scotia Bible Society. He distributed Bibles, free of charge, to anyone who wanted one.[14] Over the almost 50 years of Rev. McCullough's ministry, the hill on which he lived, where one could obtain a Bible free of charge, became known as Bible Hill.

Demographics[edit]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Bible Hill had a population of 5,076 living in 2,374 of its 2,472 total private dwellings, a change of 3.7% from its 2016 population of 4,894. With a land area of 9.24 km2 (3.57 sq mi), it had a population density of 549.4/km2 (1,422.8/sq mi) in 2021.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bible Hill website
  2. ^ Elected Officials
  3. ^ Political Representatives
  4. ^ Political Representatives
  5. ^ Bible Hill Community Counts[permanent dead link] Government of Nova Scotia
  6. ^ Nova Scotia Community Counts: Statistical profile Archived 2012-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Bible Hill Consolidated | Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education". www.ccrce.ca.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "The Trailer Park Boys are back in town, make stop in Truro Police cells | The Digby Courier". www.digbycourier.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  9. ^ a b Miller, Thomas (1873). Historical and Genealogical Record of the First Settlers of Colchester County: Down to the Present Time, Comp. from the Most Authentic Sources. A. & W. Mackinlay.
  10. ^ "Official Village History". Archived from the original on 2007-01-20. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  11. ^ "Central Nova Scotia Tourism". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  12. ^ Hamilton, William (1996). Place Names of Atlantic Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 295
  13. ^ "Home". firstunitedtruro.ca.
  14. ^ Hamilton, William (1996). Place Names of Atlantic Canada. University of Toronto Press.
  15. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.

External links[edit]