LOCATION:

The village of Fall River is located about twenty kilometers north of Halifax.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Fall River takes its name from the falls that once flowed from nearby Miller Lake to Lake Thomas. Construction of the Bicentennial Highway in the late 1960s altered the flow of the water and today there is just a trickle of water that flows though a culvert under the highway, near Miller Lake.

Among the first pioneers to receive land in the community was Daniel Miller in 1785. It was the Millers who not only named Fall River but also gave their own name to Miller Lake at the top of the original falls.

SETTLEMENT HISTORY:

Some of the earliest settlers in the region arrived as Loyalists after the American Revolution. They took up land grants near Shubenacadie Grand Lake, one of the largest lakes in the municipality, now known simply as Grand Lake. The lake forms part of a chain of lakes, rivers and streams that were used by the Mi'kmaq as an overland waterway from Halifax Harbour to the Minas Basin.

By the mid-1800s, five to six mills were working at full capacity to produce wood products that were shipped to the United States. But a trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. around 1878 cooled relations between the two countries and the trade relations soon declined.

FALL RIVER TODAY:

Today the community is a mixture of residential and vacation homes as the modern highway system makes it possible for homeowners to commute to work.