History of Sugar Camp Farm
It is estimated that the island of Cape Breton formed around 570,000 BC and that the arrival of local inhabitants didn't begin until around 8000 BC. It was another 9000 years, around 1000 AD that the Vikings began to explore the island and set up trading with the local ancestors of the Mikmac. After that the Vikings, Irish pirates, and other indigenous peoples visited the island from time to time. In 1497, John Cabot sailed up to Cape Breton Island and claimed it for England and sailed on. A few years later Breton fisherman arrived from France and set up an alliance with the Mikmac and began fishing the waters in and around the island and trading with the locals. In 1501, Gaspar Cortereal began to explorer the waters around the island and claimed the area for Portugal. He was followed, in 1520, by Joao Fagundes who set up a permanent Portuguese settlement on the island in 1521. The English returned in 1578 in the person of Anthony Packhurst and we have the first fight for possession of the island. A series of English entrepreneurs arrived in the form of Captain Liegh and Lord Ochiltree. There followed a Captain Daniel who set siege to Lord Ociltree's Fort on behalf of the French. The French, in order to solidify their hold on the island, built a fort and settlement at St. Annes in 1631 and later, 1636, established the French fur trade. A treaty was signed in 1713, which officially gave Cape Breton to France, and the French founded the Fortress of Louisbourg (still standing) in1720. The English, as was the habit of the day, seemed to forget all about the treat y and began their first siege of Louisbourg in 1749 at which they were successful. However, as gentlemen would have it, the fort was returned to the French three years later. As you might guess, the English had second thoughts and in 1758, they recaptured not only Louisbourg, but St. Annes as well. During this time, the province of Nova Scotia, which, in 1820 included Cape Breton Island, was given over to Lord Cunningham (an ancestor on my Mother's side of the family). Shortly thereafter, the Scots descended on the island and an Archibald MacDonald began to survey, along with his son, land in the hills above the Straight of Canso. Later the MacDonald properties were broken up and sold off for various reasons. Angus, Roy, Richard, Evelyn, and Madeline still hold much of the land in this hillside area.
The area is mostly rolling hills with small little valleys, streams, and the headwaters for the Little River and the Inhabitants River that flows south to Inhabitants Bay. The aboriginal people used the area for hunting, trapping, and the gathering of maple syrup from the thousands of maple trees that dot the countryside. When French fur trappers worked their way inland from Inhabitants Bay, they befriended the locals and joined in boiling down the maple syrup for sugar. They set up camps in the area for these operations and the place became known as Sugar Camp. To the southwest, the port of Hawkesbury and Hastings became central to the economy of the area and Sugar Camp was accessible by road along Crandall Road and Old Barberton Road. The intersection of these two roads near the Long Stretch Road became the central location of Sugar Camp. The MacDonalds began to subdivide their property located south of Longstretch Road and east of Crandall Road. A portion of the property went to Winston Kennedy, a portion to the MacIver family. Big John "Charlie" MacDonald maintained a good portion of the land and built a fine two-story house with full basement. Red John MacDonald had a house moved from Port Hastings and he put it up on his property near the intersection of Long Stretch and New Barberton Road. "Charlie" was well known and well liked in the neighborhood. The property was subdivided again with Richard MacDonald maintaining nearly 100 acres to the east and 26 acres ended up, eventually with The MacCauleys. The MacCauleys remodeled the home and modernized it. There is a 6-stall barn, corrals, and an arena for horses. There is a good water well, a septic system, and a grey water leach line. There is some land for horse pasture.
In the Fall of 2005, I was looking for an investment property in Canada that I might set up as a Warmblood horse staging area. I had been receiving the H.M. Dignam land catalogue for some time when I noticed that there was a tree plantation of 240 acres for sale in the hills northeast of Port Hawkesbury near the intersection of Barberton Road and the Nova Scotia Power Line. After much trepidation, Christina and I decided to take the leap and we bought the land sight unseen. My son, Wes, and I visited the property for the first time in February of 2006 and found it very suitable for any endeavor we may want to challenge. Yet, through all the excitement, we had no place to set up headquarters in the meantime. On returning to California and showing our pictures to Christina, she demanded that we set about finding suitable residence near the tree plantation. I went online and typed in "farmhouse, Barberton road, cape Breton", never thinking that I would find anything since my son and I hadn't seen any structures anywhere near the tree plantation. Lo and behold up popped a referral for 26 acres in Sugar Camp with the address of 924 Barberton Road. Again, site unseen and relying on only vague recollections of some structures within a 10 mile radius and along Crandall Road, Christina and I were on a plane to Cape Breton to sign on the dotted line. It took us nearly an hour of driving back and forth through the hills until we finally found a board nailed to a power pole, along a dirt road, that read "924". We cautiously turned down another gravel road through the maple trees and as it turned gradually in a westerly direction, Christina called out, "There it is!" Our Sugar Camp Farm. As it turned out, it was on the old original Barberton Road, not the new improved and paved Barberton Road that leads from Port Hawkesbury to the Gypsum Mine northeast of Sugar Camp Farm. Sugar Camp Farm is nestled in its own little valley setting with springs, streams, nearly 50 apple trees of various varieties, pines, and, of course, lots of maple trees. The deed now lists the Smiths as the owners. I returned in July to do maintenance, repairs, and general cleanup. Christina and I returned again in September to spend our 40th wedding anniversary. Our address is:
Sugar Camp Farm
924 Old Barberton Road
Sugar Camp, Nova Scotia. Canada
B9A 1V1
Christina and I decided to protect our western border by purchasing the MacIver property and returned in February 2007 to complete that purchase which enlarged Sugar Camp farm by an additional 56 acres. We went back in May 2007 to spend Mother's Day and work on the house. In August 2007, we upgraded many features and had Bill Henwood, our neighbor, brush and clear the Pond Meadow, Barn Meadow, Arena, Garden, Magic Tree Meadow, and Long Meadow.
On August 8, 2008, we officially moved on to the farm full time.
All family are welcomed to come and visit Sugar Camp Farm. The house has all the amenities of a modern home even though isolated from most of the rest of the world. Please feel free to give us a call at 902 625 0948 at the Farm or on my cell phone at 902 951 0670.
Directions to Sugar Camp begin with you landing at Halifax Airport at the far west end of Nova Scotia. You then take highway 102 northeast to Turuo then turn east on the Trans Canadian Highway 104 to Antigonish and on to the causeway over the Straight of Canso. As soon as cross the bridge you will be in Port Hastings and you will enter the "Rotary". At this point you will take highway 105 east for about 5 kilometers. Keep an eye open for Longstretch Road on your right side. It is the first exit after the Port Hawkesbury Airport Road. Take Longstretch Road for approximately 10 kilometers until you come to the intersection of Crandall Road on your right. Take Crandall Road (gravel) for about 100 meters, over a small bridge and then take your first left turn. You are now on Old Barberton Road (there are no road signs). Go for about 2 kilometers and you will see, on your left, a wooden box for garbage collection and behind that a power pole with a white board on it that reads "924". Enter that little gravel road between the maples and pines and it will take you to Sugar Camp Farm house.
You may also fly directly into Sydney Airport on the east end of Cape Breton Island. Better yet, regardless of which end of Nova Scotia you land at, just let us know ahead of time and we'll come and get you when you land.