LOCATION:

The community of Timberlea is situated along the St. Margaret's Bay road, Route #3.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Timberlea was first known as Nine Mile River after the river that flows through the village. For a short period of time the community was named Bowser Station around 1905 after Angus Bowser, a postmaster and hotelkeeper. The community was renamed Timberlea in 1922 by which time it was a busy lumbering and sawmill centre.

SETTLEMENT HISTORY:

The Boutilier family, descendants of Foreign Protestants who had previously settled in the St. Margaret's Bay region during the late 1700s, moved to the area and received a 650-acre grant. John Fraser of Glen Margaret arrived in 1830 to build a sawmill near what today is Fraser Lake. Then, Cyrus Boutilier was given fifty acres in 1841 and erected a second sawmill in the community. Logging operations and sawmills continued to fuel the economy for a number of years. One such business flourished until the 1950s.

GENEALOGY:

Surnames of settlers to be found within the area include Boutilier, Fraser, Umlah, Moore, Martin, Lambert, Rhuda, Johnson, Pace, Troop, Potts, Isenor, and Poirier.

TIMBERLEA TODAY:

Today the area is largely residential, offering affordable housing within easy commuting distance of Halifax. Timberleas Hills, now known as Glengarry Gardens, and Timberlea Village have been developed over recent years.