Morien Bay

Morien Bay. . The history of the village of Port Morien, rooted as it was in mining and fishing, is tightly entwined with Morien Bay itself. , The Mi'kmaq name was "Noolektooch", (Noo-lack-took) meaning "place jammed with ice", or "bivouacking place". Early French maps call this bay "Baie de Morienne", possibly named by the Portuguese as a version of St. Martins., In 1768, British mapmaker and surveyor Samuel Holland called this place Granby Bay. Shortly after, possibly due to legend that a Sydney resident found his wayward cow here, the place became known as Cow Bay. , By 1895, after a public meeting in the village, and a requested provincial statute, the name Cow Bay was officially changed to Port Morien., Coal wharves were located on both sides of the bay. A steam engine was assembled in South Head from components that were shipped across the bay. There was a wharf built and repaired many times at South Head to ship coal from the mine located there. When the mine closed, the steam engine was taken back across the bay on the ice. There was another mine at False Bay, close to Wadden's Cove., A coal vessel, a brigantine called the Amazon, was wrecked on the shores of Morien Bay by a gale in 1868. After undergoing repairs, it was re-floated and renamed the Mary Celeste, which later became a world-famous ghost ship after being found abandoned near the Azores in 1872., Morien Bay bore the brunt of the Great August Gale of 1873. Estimates of up to 37 vessels were wrecked on her shores after a hurricane pounded the shores of Cape Breton for two days. , Primitive weather forecasting and exposure to east and northeast gales led to the demise of dozens of ships on the slate shores of Morien Bay., The beauty of this bay is contrasted by an American coal boat skipper’s description. He called it "an audacious beastly hole for taking in a load of coal"., The bay and the communities surrounding it were enveloped with smoke through the summer of 1935. Much of South Head was completely destroyed by a forest fire., (photo captions) , 1. 19th Century coal shipping and fishing in Cow Bay. , 2. The Amazon , The original name of the Mary Celeste , the famous ghost ship found drifting off the Azores in 1872. This painting was done in 1861. , 3. Morien Dock 1970s. , 4. Aerial view of Morien Bay. , 5. Morien Harbor.