Riverport is a village in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The harbour of Ritcey Cove is free from shoals and safe from every wind, considered one of the finest in North America. Riverport is a five-minute drive to several public beaches including Hirtle's Beach, Kingsburg Beach, Oxner Beach, Rose Bay Beach and Spindler Beach.
Geography
Riverport is located approximately 120 kilometers from Halifax Regional Municipality, 20 kilometers from Bridgewater and 15 kilometers from Lunenburg and across the river from LaHave.
History
One of the first European explorers to discover the area was Samuel De Champlain in 1604 as part of the LaHave settlement. Between 1632 and 1636, Commander Isaac de Razilly created the First Capital of New France on the western river shore, later Riverport would form on the eastern side. During this time Fort Ste. Marie de Grace housed the colony and cannons line.
In 1634 the governor of Acadia, Isaac de Razilly, wrote, “Bordeaux vines have been planted that are doing very well,” making the first mention of wine grape cultivation anywhere in Canada.
As time progressed forward to 1650, the eastern side of the LaHave River became known as Ance aux Huitres or Oyster Cove. This was also one of Sir Nicholas Denys' headquarters and fishing stations, he having arrived at LaHave, Nova Scotia with de Racily. As business and government spending slowed, the French usage of the area slowed, as the capital at Port-Royal, Nova Scotia and other settlements near Saint John, New Brunswick grew. From 1654 to 1667, after a devastating conflict between duelling Acadian governors d'Aulnay and La Tour (who shared a wife, Jeanne Moutin, who effectively ruled Acadia throughout married first to d'Aulnay and then La Tour) , the Denys brothers (Nicholas and Simon) moved from the area to the north.
A century later, under British rule, Foreign Protestants arrived for settlement in Halifax in 1749 to 1752.
Ritcey's Cove
Ritcey's Cove began as 30 acre land lots issued for settlement which began in 1754 by the original Foreign Protestants settlers. One of the original settlers in this community was Johann Phillip Henericie. Through time and language practices traditional German language adapted to local market requirements and eventually adapted to English. Over the years, the "Henericie" name became known as "Ritcey" and Ritcey's Cove.
As Ritcey's Cove grew and other communities such as Kingsburg, Feltzen South and Middle LaHave influenced Ritcey's Cove, local families including Creaser, Smith, Oxner, Himmelman, Conrad, Mosher and Zinck families made a name change necessary. Simon Ritcey, direct descendant of Johann Phillip Henericie, chaired the meeting.
In 1902 "Riverport" and "Fairhaven" were the choices, the vote was tied and Riverport was chosen by the chairman's deciding ballot. In 1904, by an Act of Parliament, Ritcey's Cove was renamed to present day Riverport. Riverport's name was established by the people during the fourth year of Edward VII's reign.
Shipbuilding, sailing, and rum-running
From its location, ship building became an important industry in the early 1800s. In 1820, the settlers engaged in Labrador fishing and the first two vessels built for bank fishing including the "Valiant". In 1910 there was a fleet of 18 salt fishing schooners. This eventually increased to 28 including the Mona Marie and Delawana of the 1920 Canadian representative for the International Fisherman Vessel Championship. The following year the Bluenose was built and won the title of the International Fisherman Vessel Championship for the six annual races that were held.
One of the most majestic buildings in Riverport is the former Myrtle Hotel. This building is steeped with story and is a place that Al Capone was reputed to be a return visitor during Prohibition. Given secluded location, proximity to the ocean and the notable number of men from the community of Riverport involved in rum-running it is likely.
A century later, Covey Island Boatworks utilized their strategic space at Kraut Point to form the entire Bluenose II backbone of laminated ribs to start a new era of schooner history. Then followed up this project with the notable project building all ten spars, standing and running rigging, mast hoops for the replica iconic American Schooner Columbia, a noted competitor.