Barrington is located on the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia. It is bordered on the west by Yarmouth County 70 km from the Town of Yarmouth, and on the east by the Clyde River 40 km from Shelburne.

Come and enjoy our fishing villages, sand beaches, museums and our many heritage buildings.

 
 

We also welcome you to the LOBSTER CAPITAL OF CANADA.

The Old Meeting House Early settlers from New England mixed business and religion in this building as far back as 1765. Back then it was used for town meetings, elections and religious services. This New England style meeting house is the oldest non-conformist house of worship in Canada.
Archelaus Smith Museum Located on Cape Sable Island, this museum portrays the history of the island including fishing lore, shipwrecks and the lives of captains. Genealogy records of this pre-loyalist fishing community are part of the artifacts displayed here.	Seal Island Lighthouse Museum This museum is a reconstruction of the original Seal Island Lighthouse. It features the original lighthouse lens.  Here you can climb the five stories to the top and touch the light!
West Head Wharf West Head Wharf is on the western side of Cape Sable Island. This natural harbour is a safe haven for various types of fishing vessels. These colourful boats are a unique trademark to the area. This wharf is also home to the Canadian Coast Guard rescue vessel for the Scotia Fundy Region.	Barrington Woolen Mill This old turbine-driven woolen mill was a community enterprise begun in 1882. Sheep were grazed on the many offshore islands and at shearing time their fleeces were brought to the mill to be processed into woolen goods. The mill ceased production in 1962 and became part of the Nova Scotia Museum in 1968.
Chapel Hill Museum and  Observation Tower A former church overlooking the village of Shag Harbour with an excellent ocean view from the belfry.  On a clear day, five lighthouses are visible.  Exhibits include household utensils, working implements and records of early community life.  This museum features "The Wreckwood Chair" which was built of wood from shipwrecks of the area.	Western Counties Military Museum Located in the courtroom of the Old Court House, in Barrington, this museum is home to military artifacts from the first and second World Wars as well as the Korean Conflict.  The museum also displays cannon balls dating to the 1630's from Fort St. Louis at Port LaTour.
Samuel Wood Museum Complex This museum is located in Woods Harbour and displays such items as antique glassware, china and crockery, as well as artifacts from the fishing industry.  The museum offers visitors many different resources and services including a satellite branch of the Western Counties Regional Library, a gift shop and provides free internet access.

Cape Sable Historical Society
Destination Southwest Nova
Shelburne County Genealogical Society
 

[Government of Nova Scotia Provincial Site - Virtual Nova Scotia]

Cape Sable Island
Cape Sable Island, the most southerly point in Atlantic Canada, is the home of the famous Cape Island boat, first built by Ephraim Atkinson at Clark's Harbour in 1907. Today the design is a standard for small boats that require high stability and efficiency in the North Atlantic. A typical Cape Islander is 11.5 m (38 ft.) long, with a 3.5-m (12-ft.) beam. It draws little water, sitting right on top of the surface, and is used primarily in the lobster fishery. 

Cape Sable is a small, low sandy island with a few trees stretching for about 3.5 km (2 miles). It is the most southern part of Nova Scotia. Off each point is a ledge, one extending nearly 4 km, another nearly 5 km. As the tide ebbs and floods across these ledges, strong breakers result. 

Since 1676, shipwrecks in this area have been common. Some ships suffered only minor damage, while others were a total loss including all their crew and passengers. After 1800 wreck documentation has been quite complete. 

Petitions had been made for a light at Cape Sable for some time. However, not until the wreck of the Hungarian, a Canadian mail steamship from Liverpool, England enroute to Portland, Maine, did government action occur. Her loss on the Cape Sable Ledges on February 20, 1860 took over two hundred lives and brought about the construction of the first Cape Sable light, completed in November 1861. In 1876 a steam-whistle fog alarm was added. Since that time ships have continued to run aground in the foggy and rough seas but loss of life has been low. 

By the 1980's the light was automated so no one lives there and the keepers' houses were demolished.
Only a few sheep reside on Cape Sable today.

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GOLF
Golf at nearby Shelburne Golf and Country Club
If you are a golfer, we have two excellent courses nearby - the River Hills Golf and Country Club  to the east and 15 minutes to the west.  Pubnico Golf and Country Club
   

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Sand Hills Beach Provincial Park -  Villagedale, 6 km south of Hwy 103, Exit 29. (Barrington), features a 2.5 km white sand beach. At low tide there are wide sand flats which warm the water when the tide comes back in. Spectacular sand dune system backs the beach area. There are change facilities and picnic tables.

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