Clark's Harbour


Clark's Harbour is a town on Cape Sable Island in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Municipality of the District of Barrington in Shelburne County. The main industry is lobster fishing. Owing to this as well as the town's history as a fishing community, the town is noted as the birthplace of the Cape Islander fishing boat.
The community is the southernmost town in the province of Nova Scotia, and thus one of the southernmost towns in Canada, being located roughly on a parallel with Bilbao, Spain and just north of Rome.

Demographics

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Clark's Harbour recorded a population of 758 living in 361 of its 407 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 820. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2016.
Mother tongue language
LanguagePopulationPct
English85598.84%
French101.16%

Ethnic OriginPopulationPct
Canadian50067.1%
English26034.9%
Scottish14018.8%
Métis8010.7%
French8010.7%
Irish608.1%
German557.4%

Religious make-up
ReligionPopulationPct
Protestant81585.79%
Catholic808.42%
No religious affiliation555.79%

Income
Income typeBy CAD
Per capita income$18,326
Median Household Income$35,830
Median Family Income$49,977

Climate

Clark's Harbour has an oceanic climate with milder winters than the mainland. The town has a significant seasonal lag, with September having the warmest year-round lows, as well as having warmer weather in the daytime compared to July.

Economy

The economy of Clark's Harbour and its surrounding areas is driven largely by the fishing industry and in particular the seasonal lobster fishery. Shelburne County is generally accepted as the lobster capital of Nova Scotia. The fishery has also given rise to various secondary and tertiary industries such as further seafood processing and packaging, and boatbuilding. Lobster that is trapped by Clark's Harbour fishers is exported around the world, but primarily to the New England market.
There are several other employers in Clark's Harbour, including a general store, a bank, a service station, a pizza parlor, and a takeout restaurant. However, the economic impact of these businesses is generally small compared to the fishery.

Public library

Located at 2648 Main Street in Clark's Harbour, the Clark's Harbour Branch Library is one of the 10 branches of Western Counties Regional Library. It joined the Western Counties Regional Library in July 1971 but it did not have a physical location in Clark's Harbour until the first branch opened on March 4, 1974. The branch was relocated to its present site as part of the Clark's Harbour Civic Centre on December 11, 2007.

Stone Church

One of the more notable attractions in Clark's Harbour is the United Baptist Stone Church, which is a popular destination for visitors. It is noted primarily for its unique architecture,
The Stone Church was first started on September 5, 1921, by Lieutenant-Governor MacCallum Grant. The foundation is made of native granite, and three feet in thickness. The granite that was used was all cut by hand using chisels. The walls are made of cobblestones gathered from the shore and surrounding islands. This church is eighty-five feet by fifty-five feet and has a seating capacity of five hundred. The inside of the church is decorated in rich wood, and the windows are stained glass.
Thomas Doucette was given the task of constructing the Stone Church from blueprints. The blueprints were designed by a Halifax architect named S.P. Dumaresq. Doucette began building the church, even though he could not read or write and had the blueprints read to him only once. It took ten years to complete the erection of the church.