TRURO - Next spring flags will mark more than 200 gravesites of some of the earliest English-speaking settlers to central Nova Scotia.
"We thought there would be no more appropriate way than to mark the graves of some of these Planters," said Cobequid 250 Society director Elinor Mahar. "In May 2011 we'll begin placing flags on each of these graves in Colchester County to show our respect for these individuals and draw attention to their contribution."
The Planters arrived 250 years ago from New England and Ireland and founded the townships of Truro, Londonderry and Onslow. Researchers at the Colchester Historical Society Archives are completing a list containing about 200 names of men and women who arrived in 1761 and subsequent years.
There is estimated to be more than 50 Planters buried in the Robie Street Cemetery while others are buried in the Bass River Pioneer Cemetery, old Middle Stewiacke Cemetery, Onslow Burying Ground Cemetery, Folly Village Cemetery in Glenholme and about a half a dozen more cemeteries throughout the region.
The white flags bearing the flax flower logo, used for Cobequid Planter 250 celebration, will be a visible symbol of the anniversary.
Planters occupied rich, dyked farmland left vacant following the expulsion of the Acadians. Representatives of the prospective settlers came to the region in the summer of 1760 to view the land while the settlements did not begin until the spring of 1761. That is why the celebration is happening during a two-year period beginning in January 2010 and continuing until December 2011.
jmalloy@trurodaily.com
