Welcome
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, was an industrial centre in the Maritimes for much of the 20th century. The coal and steel industries were both major employers on the island, and their decline in the later decades of the century precipitated a protracted economic downturn for most of Cape Breton’s communities.
In many tourism guides, however, the industrial past is virtually invisible. The Doers and Dreamers Guide, a tourist brochure put out by the Government of Nova Scotia in 2011, contains a rather substantial section entitled “Discovering Cape Breton Island.” [1] Appealing to the island’s natural beauty, this guidebook is nearly silent on the 20th century industrial experience. In fact, it includes only two locations that deal directly with Cape Breton’s industrial past: the miners’ museums in Inverness and Glace Bay. Instead, the guide focuses heavily on the Fortress of Louisbourg – “where history comes alive.” [2] Why such a predilection towards the pre-modern? It would appear that the dominant narrative, for visitors to the Island at least, is one of rolling hills, gleaming waters, and “historic” Louisbourg. Where are the coal miners, steelworkers, fishermen, and countless other workers who have helped to build the industries and communities of Cape Breton since the mid-19th century?
Many of Cape Breton’s formerly industrial communities, however, contain memorials and commemorations to workers’ past experiences. These “labour landmarks” challenge the conceptualization of Cape Breton as a pre-industrial utopia, re-position workers and their families in the historical narrative, and rescue the industrial past of the island from what historian E.P. Thompson referred to as, “the enormous condescension of posterity.” [3]
This site will provide photographs and information on labour landmarks in “industrial Cape Breton,” which is defined in this research as the eastern portion of Cape Breton County, comprising the communities of Dominion, Glace Bay, New Waterford, North Sydney, Port Morien, Sydney, and Sydney Mines.
Footnotes
[1] Government of Nova Scotia, Doers and Dreamers Guide, 2011, 223-89.
[2] Doers and Dreamers Guide, 2011, 223-89.
[3] E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (New York: Pantheon Books, 1964), 12.
In many tourism guides, however, the industrial past is virtually invisible. The Doers and Dreamers Guide, a tourist brochure put out by the Government of Nova Scotia in 2011, contains a rather substantial section entitled “Discovering Cape Breton Island.” [1] Appealing to the island’s natural beauty, this guidebook is nearly silent on the 20th century industrial experience. In fact, it includes only two locations that deal directly with Cape Breton’s industrial past: the miners’ museums in Inverness and Glace Bay. Instead, the guide focuses heavily on the Fortress of Louisbourg – “where history comes alive.” [2] Why such a predilection towards the pre-modern? It would appear that the dominant narrative, for visitors to the Island at least, is one of rolling hills, gleaming waters, and “historic” Louisbourg. Where are the coal miners, steelworkers, fishermen, and countless other workers who have helped to build the industries and communities of Cape Breton since the mid-19th century?
Many of Cape Breton’s formerly industrial communities, however, contain memorials and commemorations to workers’ past experiences. These “labour landmarks” challenge the conceptualization of Cape Breton as a pre-industrial utopia, re-position workers and their families in the historical narrative, and rescue the industrial past of the island from what historian E.P. Thompson referred to as, “the enormous condescension of posterity.” [3]
This site will provide photographs and information on labour landmarks in “industrial Cape Breton,” which is defined in this research as the eastern portion of Cape Breton County, comprising the communities of Dominion, Glace Bay, New Waterford, North Sydney, Port Morien, Sydney, and Sydney Mines.
Footnotes
[1] Government of Nova Scotia, Doers and Dreamers Guide, 2011, 223-89.
[2] Doers and Dreamers Guide, 2011, 223-89.
[3] E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (New York: Pantheon Books, 1964), 12.