Preface / Pursuing the Past / How Westville Got It's Name / Minutes of the First Town Council Meeting, Sept.8, 1894
How Westville Got Its Name
Black Diamond mines began opening in the area from 1866-67-68, and an increasing demand for the fuel led to the birth of the village. Homes began being built and the village developed.
Jesse Hoyt, manager of the Acadia Coal Company, named the place Acadia Mines which replaced its former name, Gairloch Road.
Gairloch Road, a muddy route running from New Glasgow to Gairloch, later became Westville’s Main Street.
On May 1868, a public meeting was held to establish a name for the community. Many Scottish names were proposed, the favorite being “Ayr” – a name of the Scottish birthplace of several people. The meeting was deadlocked until the name WESTVILLE was proposed. The citizens approved, and renamed the community.
WESTVILLE was chosen because the community was west of the Albion Mines which was the former name of Stellarton.
The townspeople took action in August 1894 when Sheriff J. Sim Harris conducted a poll in which incorporation was favored, by a 273-208 majority.
