We are an island within an island, surrounded by the Bras d’Or Lakes and Cape Breton Island. Boularderie Island is divided by two counties; Victoria County and Cape Breton County, two of the four counties that divide the Island of Cape Breton. Few counties in Nova Scotia can boast of such an extent of coastline. The coast, moreover, has few dangers for navigators, which is largely prevented by the several lighthouses that are along the shoreline. The surface of Victoria County is exceedingly varied; at some localities high and rocky; at others, particularly along the courses of the rivers, low and well suited to agriculture. Previous to European settlement, Boularderie, like the other parts of Nova Scotia , was inhabited by the Micmac (properly Miggumac), a branch of the great Algonquin race.

Boularderie Island received its name around 1721 when Louis-Simon le Poupet de la Boularderie received a grant of land; an island located at northeastern end of the Bras d'Or Lake about, 50 kilometers from Louisburg as the crow flies. The 40-kilometer island, to this day bears his name, Boularderie Island.

The Island of Boularderie received its first European inhabitant in 1820, when Donald McDonald and family arrived and settled on the lot next to that on which the late A. Munro, Esq., resided. In 1823, there was a large influx of immigrants from Gairlock and Loch Carron, in Rosshire, and each year thereafter the population increased, until Boularderie became one of the most populous districts in all Cape Breton. There were many different areas of settlement that made up Boularderie Island, most still exist today.

Big Bras d’Or is a settlement on Boularderie Island; Bras d’Or means “the golden arm,” though it may actually be a corruption of Labrador, which is probably derived from Loav Fernandez, a Portuguese explorer from the Azores who was known as the Labrador or small squire. Another possible explanation is that “or” is the Breton pronunciation of “eau,” so that Bras d’Or is simply an arm of water, or the sea. Since the word Labrador is used on old maps for Great Bras d’Or, perhaps the first explanation is more plausible. Among the early grantees of Big Bras d'Or was John MacDonald, 1826. A Schoolhouse was built here by 1867.

Black Rock is a place near the Great Bras d’Or Strait. Among the early grantees were Roderick Morrison, 1842, Dougald MacDonald, 1868, and Donald Campbell Jr., 1880.

Boularderie is a settlement on Boularderie Island, northeast of Sydney. Once called Isle de Verderonne, Boularderie is named after Sieur Louis Simon de St. Aubin, Chevalier de la Boularderie, a French officer who was stationed at Port Royal and later at Louisbourg. In 1719, as a reward for his services, he was granted Boularderie Island and adjacent territory. There was a school here by 1854, and a Presbyterian Church was opened in 1887.

Boularderie East's first grantees were Neil Patterson in 1834, and Alexander Grant in 1848. Boularderie East was a thriving village of five hundred people in 1904; it had four sawmills, two gristmills, and one lobster factory.

Boularderie Center is a settlement on Boularderie Island; among the first persons granted here were Murdoch MacKenzie and Murdoch McLellan, 1834, and Rev. James Fraser, 1844.

Kempt Head is situated on the western end of Boularderie Island. It was probably named after Sir James Kempt, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia 1820 to 1828. Among the grantees were Murdoch, Duncan and Alexander Kempt, who settled in 1829.

Ross Ferry was probably named after settlers, like many of the other settlements. Among the grantees were John Ross, 1828, James Campbell and John Matheson, 1860.

South Side of Boularderie first grantees included Anne Ingouville, 1829, and Sarah McIntyre, 1872. There was a school established in the district by 1867.

Upper Kempt Head's first settlers included Angus McKay, who settled there in 1829 and was granted land in 1832.

Other settlements located on Boularderie Island during this time period include Bird Islands, Clear Point, Coffin Point, Dalem Lake, Duffis Point, Fraser Point, Gooseberry Beach, Island Point, Man-of-War Point, McLean Point, Munro Point, Patterson Lake, Red Point, Ross Point, and Table Head. Most of these locations still exist today.

Works Cited:
MacDonald, W. James. Patterson’s History of Victoria County. Cape Breton : College of Cape Breton Press, 1978.