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Tantramar Heritage Trust

Since its inception in 1996, Tantramar Heritage Trust has been keeping history alive for the people of Sackville. Those involved with the evolution of the Trust were concerned that a community such as Sackville, with nearly 300 years of European settlement history, did not have a museum or active organization promoting heritage matters. Their dream was to have a community organization that focused on preserving our rich and diverse cultural heritage - and "preserving the past for the future" became their tag line.

"Through the generosity of volunteers, membership dues, money and article donations, tireless fundraising efforts on behalf of the Board, and a very supportive community", says Al Smith, Projects Director, "the Trust has developed into a strong non-profit, charitable organization devoted to heritage preservation and awareness."

Except for an occasional part time book-keeper and summer students, the organization operates entirely through volunteers including an 11-member Board of Directors. The Trust has welcomed over 200 members to their organization, 95% of whom are from Sackville. But some of the far-reaching activities such as the Yorkshire 2000 event that they sponsored have grown their membership outside Tantramar.

Yorkshire 2000 (August 3-10, 2000) was a major gathering of descendants of the Yorkshire Settlers in celebration of the 225th anniversary of the historically significant 1772-75 Immigration. The event attracted more than 3000 participants from around the world to a week-long series of activities and events. The Trust has since established a legacy committee as a result of the tremendous success of the event and will be working on developing a Yorkshire Studies presence at Mt. Allison University, publishing proceedings from the Yorkshire Conference,developing a proposal for a Family History Research Centre in Sackville, and installing plaques and monuments, and other aspects of legacy.

The Trust is involved in many publications including a quarterly newsletter, The White Fence, which highlights Tantramar's historic past. The Trust is currently sponsoring a series on local topics. The first such publication, in 1997, was "Tales of The Horse" by local farmer Dick MacLeod. The initial edition of 500 copies sold out immediately and had to be reprinted. The Trust also sponsored a number of publications in support of Yorkshire 2000: "Footprints In the Marsh Mud", "Nathaniel Smith letters", "Bibliography of Early Settlement History", a reprinting of "Short Stories by W.R. Bird", "When Yorkshire Came to Nova Scotia", and "Tastes of the Tantramar".

These days the Trust is establishing the community's first museum, The Campbell Carriage Factory Museum. Recently acquired by the Trust via donation, the Factory provides insight into the commercial life of Sackville back to 1838. In 1999, a major restoration project began and is scheduled to be largely completed by the end of 2001. Plans are to open the factory as a public museum in 2002. The site is currently a designated Provincial Heritage site. Of great interest is the recent donation of an Express Wagon and a Buggy, both Campbell-made.

In addition to this, five times a year the Trust organizes public meetings with guest speakers on Tantramar's rich heritage. They will also be sponsoring historical research, installation of plaques and cairns, conducting an inventory of historical buildings, working with the Planning Commission on heritage landscape protection, and hosting workshops and gatherings.

Their latest, most ambitious project involves the acquisition of the historic Boultenhouse property. It is considered one of the oldest houses in Sackville, dating around 1840, and built by shipwright Christopher Boultenhouse. A Business Plan was developed in 1998 to develop it into a heritage centre; it is scheduled to become the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre & Museum commencing in 2005. It will house displays on shipbuilding, agricultural & manufacturing heritage, early settlement and more. The building will also become a permanent home for the Trust's offices with a genealogy research centre.

Their dedication, of great interest to us today, will be even more appreciated by generations to come.