Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
Atlantic Canada's #1 tourist attraction.
Only 38 people are lucky enough to live in Peggy's Cove—a picturesque fishing village located a short drive from downtown Halifax—while the thousands of people who visit the hamlet each year can only dream of settling in this location.
The area is so rich in both natural beauty and cultural heritage that it has become the most identifiable destination in Atlantic Canada.
This active fishing community fits perfectly into the east coast maritime village ideal. Explore colourful houses perched on seashore landscape, a former lighthouse-turned-post office and a shoreline comprised of boulders that have been transformed into smooth rocks by years of washing away.
Attractions
Peggy's Cove has a number of attractions that appeal to travellers, including the touching and poignant Swiss Air Flight 111 Memorial and the amazingly intricate maritime mural in William E. deGarthe Memorial Provincial Park. However, it is the famous lighthouse at Peggy's Point that remains the most recognizable symbol of this quiet hideaway. In fact, the white and red beacon of hope—which started guiding sailors in 1868—has the distinction of being one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world.
Peggy's Cove Lighthouse
Atlantic Canada's #1 tourist destination.
The famous lighthouse at Peggy's Point remains the most recognizable symbol of this quiet hideaway. In fact, the white and red beacon of hope—which started guiding sailors in 1868—has the distinction of being one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world.
One of Nova Scotia’s most well-known lighthouses, the Peggy’s Point Lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove was built in 1915 and is located just an hour from Halifax. The ground floor of this lighthouse, until 2009, operated as a post office where visitors could mail their postcards in the summer months – the only lighthouse post office in North America at the time. While the post office is no longer there, the image of this famous lighthouse on top of the giant rocks with the sea waves crashing in is just as beautiful as it has been for almost a century.
St. John's Anglican Church
St. John's Anglican Church is a Gothic Revival church with a corner tower and spire and is located in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. The designation applies to the church and the land it occupies.
St. John's Anglican Church is valued for its importance to the people of Peggy’s Cove as the only religious centre in the community. The church has been involved with all aspects of residents’ lives, from birth to death. The timber was brought from across the bay and built by a Mahone Bay resident.
Architecturally, St. John's Anglican Church is valued for its Gothic Revival architecture and its uniquely situated corner tower and spire. The tower has buttressed corners. The church features vertical board and batten wood cladding and a steeply pitched gable roof. St. John's Anglican Church has an additive form with small projections from the gable roof structure. The style and function of the building are unique in the community, as it is the only church.
The character-defining elements of St. John's Anglican Church relate to its Gothic Revival style and include:
- Tower with buttressed corners.
- Corner tower with spire.
- Additive form with small projections from the gable roof structure.
- Vertical board and batten wood cladding.
- Steep pitch gable roof.
Swissair Flight 111
Swissair Flight 111 (SR-111, SWR-111) was a Swissair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on a scheduled airline flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States to Cointrin International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. This flight was also a codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines.
On 2 September 1998 the aircraft used for the flight, registered HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax International Airport at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia. The crash site was 8 kilometres (5 mi) from shore, roughly equidistant between the tiny fishing and tourist communities of Peggys Cove and Bayswater. All 229 people on board died. It was the highest-ever death toll of any aviation accident involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.
The resulting investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) took over four years and cost CAD 57 million (at that time approximately USD 38 million). The organization concluded that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in the loss of control and crash of the aircraft.
Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "U.N. shuttle" due to its popularity with United Nations officials; the flight often carried business executives, scientists, and researchers.
William E. deGarthe Gallery
William E. deGarthe was a much-loved maritime artist working in Nova Scotia until his death in 1983. He created numerous paintings and sculpture depicting maritime life that are spread throughout the world.
This gallery, located in one of deGarthe's favourite fishing villages, Peggy's Cove, displays 65 of his works which were donated by his wife.
The gallery is open from May 1st to October 31st.
William E. deGarthe Memorial Provincial Park
William E. deGarthe, one of Nova Scotia's most beloved maritime artists, created a 30m (100ft) carving of 32 fisherman, plus their wives and children, as they are looked over by a guardian Angel, using a granite wall as his canvas. The carving is the centrepiece of the William E. deGarthe Memorial Provincial Park, located in the village of Peggy's Cove. Unfortunately, deGarthe passed away before the memorial was completed, but it is still a must-see.
