Proud of our Heritage

About Enfield:

There are many old family names in and around Enfield. Some of the names associated with Enfield over the years have been:  Horne, Donaldson, MacDonnell, Benere, King, O’Neill, Sheridan, and MacDowell.

In many cases, you will find that a lot of these people are now related if you go back a few generations..

Enfield became a village comparatively late in the History of Nova Scotia, it does not appear in any early census of the Province.  Early people living in the area were probably listed under Nine Mile River, Douglas  Township or "The Crossing".

Brown's "Place Names of Nova Scotia" says Enfield was named at a Public Meeting, called at Malcolm's Pottery in 1862.  The name was suggested by Thomas Donaldson, after his home town Enfield, in the Connecticut River Valley.  It was previously known as "The Crossing".

It might be dated from the time Benjamin Franklin was given a grant of land. Mr. Franklin was a member in the First Council of Government in 1758. No grants were given until after 1760, so it was sometime after this date, that he was granted land which is now a part of Enfield.

This grant only took in land on the side of the Shubenacadie River opposite the main part of the present village.  Mr. Franklin hired a man named Mr. Hall to take charge of this grant, and operate a Wayside Inn.

Another grant was given to a man by the name of Uniacke.  This grant included 1100 acres of land, which fronted on Grand Lake East.  This land is now owned by several men of which Mr. Arch McDonell and Mr. Edward C. McDonell are included.

Another grant of land was given to Jacob Horne Sr., a German who enlisted in the 42nd Highland Regiment.  He had a little coasting vessel running out of New York in 1758 - at which time the British came to Halifax to take Louisburg.  Since Horne was familiar with the coast of Nova Scotia, he accompanied General Wolfe as a pilot, fighting under him at Quebec in 1759.  After the end of the war in 1763 he returned to Halifax.  H. H. Hewitt, in his paper on McNab's Island, stated that Jacob, on applying for a grant of land, was given the choice between McNab's Island, and a large grant on the Eastern Mainland.  He chose the Island and built a log house on it. Finding the Island inconvenient for taking cattle to the Halifax Market, he gave up his possessions and received a grant on the Mainland at Eastern Passage.

His son, Andrew Horne was the first settler in Enfield District clearing a farm in the wilderness near the lock at Horne Settlement.

Enfield became a village comparatively late in the History of Nova Scotia, it does not appear in any early census of the Province.  Early people living in the area were probably listed under Nine Mile River, Douglas Township or "The Crossing".