Time Line
1850 The first settlers arrive; mostly Lowland
Scots.
1850 Area called Acadia Village.
1864 Coal is first discovered.
1865 John Campbell discovers the Great Seam of
Coal
1866 The Acadia Mine opens
1866 The Intercolonial Coal Company, which
operates the Drummond, is incorporated.
1866 The Black Diamond begins hoisting coal,
one box at a time.
1867 Acadia LOL Number 45 is granted its
charter.
1867 The Drummond Mine ships its first coal on
its own railway.
1867 On April 8, Daniel Robert Robertson is
the first baby born in Westville.
1868 Western Star Lodge Number 50 A.F. & A.M.
is founded.
1868 The towns census counts a population of
300, mostly farmers.
1868 A Post Office is established, with Duncan
Balfour first postmaster.
1868 Acadia Village changes its name to
Westville.
1869 The first Chelsea School, a four-room
building, is erected.
1871 Lowells Dominion of Canada Directory
gives population as 1,000.
1871 Scotia Lodge Number 11 is founded.
1871 St. Philips Presbyterian Church is
built.
1871 Land is purchased from Acadia Coal
Company to erect a Roman Catholic Church.
1872 Carmel Presbyterian Church is completed,
but destroyed by fire during the dedication
ceremonies.
1873 Construction begins on the Roman Catholic
Church.
1873 The second building of Carmel
Presbyterian Church is completed.
1873 A mine explosion at the Drummond claims
60 lives.
1875 The Drummond School on Drummond Road is
erected.
1876 The areas first baseball club, Alpha,
is formed.
1878 The construction of the Roman Catholic
Church of the Immaculate Conception is
completed.
1882 The Royal Oak Hotel is destroyed by fire.
1883 Westville has an active brass band.
1885 The Salvation Army becomes a presence in
Westville.
1886 A new Masonic Hall is dedicated.
1887 The largest hotel in Westville is built
The Dufferin.
1888 In May, the Bank of Nova Scotia opens.
1888 The Provincial Legislature passes an act
to incorporate Westville as a town.
1888 The cornerstone of Orange Hall is laid.
1889 The Bank of Nova Scotia is robbed by two
men.
1889 Telephone services becomes a reality.
1891 A miners monument is erected in memory
of the miners who lost their lives in the 1873
explosion.
1894 A vote to incorporate the town passes:
273 for, 208 against.
1894 The Westville Press begins publishing.
1894 The town is incorporated on September 14.
1894 The water system is brought into being.
1895 The Free Lance is started by R.A.
MacDonald.
1895 The first water system is completed at a
cost of $60,000.
1895 The Lady Princess May Lodge #53 is
organized.
1896 Plank sidewalks are installed.
1896 Duncan Weir is appointed first fire
chief.
1897 The first St. Bees Church is erected.
1898 The Victoria Free Library opens.
1898 An agricultural society is formed.
1899 Westville builds the largest skating rink
this side of Montreal.
1897 The Free Lance and The Westville News
join.
1899 The Drummond School is torn down to make
way for the Victoria School.
1900 The Knights of Pythias are organized.
1901 Struan G. Robertson begins a two-year
term as mayor.
1904 An electric tramway connects Westville,
Stellarton, Trenton and New Glasgow.
1904 The tramway fare from Westville to
Trenton is 15’.
1905 The Poll tax is $4.
1906 Westville wins the Pictou County and
Maritime Cricket Championship.
1907 The Drummond Colliery puts out 307,844
tons of coal.
1909 Westville wins the County Baseball
Championship.
1910 The Drummond has its biggest year: a
1,000-man workforce puts out 413,000 tons of
coal.
1910 Historian George Dawson claims 1910 the
peak of prosperity for Westville.
1910 The first curling rink is built.
1912 The Pythian Sisters are organized.
1912 Fred and Dan Crockett establish a sheet
metal firm.
1912 The Knights of Columbus are formed.
1913 The second St. Bees Church is erected.
1914 The Drummond number 5 steam boiler
explodes, killing seven men.
1914 Westville sends more men to the Armed
Forces than any other town of its size in
Canada: 10% of its population.
1915 Westvilles total assets are valued at
$125,460.45
1917 On December 6 tremors from Halifax
Explosion are felt in Westville.
1918 The school population is 1,039.
1919 Joe Wright opens the first garage.
1920 The Royal Bank opens.
1921 The Holy Name Roman Catholic Church is
erected: named by Bishop James Morrison.
1922 A memorial to honour the dead of World
War I is dedicated.
1923 The cornerstone is laid for the IOOF
Hall.
1924 The Westville baseball team captures its
first provincial title.
1924 The Acadia Sisters #609, Ladies Orange
Benevolent Association, is organized.
1925 The first fire truck, a Model-T Ford, is
purchased.
1925 Church Street School is built.
1926 The second St. Philips Church becomes
Westville United Church.
1927 Westvilles baseball team becomes the
Maritime champion.
1928 The Canadian Legion of the British Empire
Service League is granted a Charter as Branch
35.
1928 The large skating rink is destroyed by
fire.
1929 The Crescent Theatre is destroyed by
fire.
1930 The first church service from St.
Andrews Presbyterian Church is broadcast over
CFCY Radio.
1931 Westville native Harold Sutherland is the
first piper to play over television radio.
1930 The Westville High School baseball team
wins the Nova Scotia title.
1931 The Roxy Theatre is opened.
1931 Westville phone subscribers are hooked
into a separate dial operation exchange.
1936 Westville miners provide key assistance
in the Moose River gold mine disaster.
1936 On July 7, Babe Ruth slugs some balls out
of Victoria Park.
1937 Bobby Allan, The Westville Windmill,
has fought over 75 bouts, winning most by K.O.
1942 Fire destroys many Main Street
properties.
1944 First grade 12 class is held Church
Street School.
1945 Old Acadia Mine closes; over 100 jobs
lost.
1945 Sixty-three men from Westville lost their
lives in World War II.
1948 St. Paul United Church and St. Andrews
Presbyterian Church unite for summer service
since 1948.
1950 Mayor J.A. MacGregor: The financial
position of the town (at) its highest level
since incorporation.
1951 The Westville Public Library opens.
1953 The Intercolonial Mine ceases operation.