Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
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| Town | |||
A postcard showing King Street
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| Nickname(s): Main Street of the South Shore | |||
 Bridgewater
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| Coordinates: 44°22′12″N 64°31′12″W / 44.37000°N 64.52000°WCoordinates: 44°22′12″N 64°31′12″W / 44.37000°N 64.52000°W | |||
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Nova Scotia
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| County | Lunenburg County | ||
| Founded | 1812 | ||
| Incorporated | February 13, 1899 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Body | Bridgewater Town Council | ||
| • Mayor | David Mitchell | ||
| • CAO | Ken Smith | ||
| • MLA | Mark Furey (L) | ||
| • MP | Bernadette Jordan (L) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Town | 13.61 km2 (5.25 sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 13.79 km2 (5.32 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 22.11 m (72.54 ft) | ||
| Population (2011) | |||
| • Town | 8,241 | ||
| • Density | 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 8,310 | ||
| • Urban density | 600/km2 (1,600/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC−4) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC−3) | ||
| Postal code | B4V | ||
| Area code(s) | 902 & 782 | ||
| Telephone Exchange | 212, 298, 521, 523, 527, 529, 530, 541, 543, 553 | ||
| Highways |
 Hwy 103 Trunk 3 Trunk 10 Route 331 Route 325
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| Median Earnings* | $40,123 | ||
| NTS Map | 021A07 | ||
| GNBC Code | CAFBR | ||
| Website | www |
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Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. With a population of 8,241 (2011 Canadian census), Bridgewater is the largest town in the South Shore region.
Priding itself as "The Main Street of the South Shore," Bridgewater has long been established as the primary commercial and professional service centre in the southern half of the province. The community boasts a diverse local economy, as well as larger national and international employers, including a Michelin tire plant. Bridgewater is one of just three communities in all of Nova Scotia to show consistent population increases in each Canadian census since 2001.
Drawing on a number of nearby satellite communities, on any given day, Bridgewater's functional population doubles from 8,200 to between 16,000 and 20,000 because of the volume of people from the surrounding areas who come to the town to work, shop, and play.
The first European settlers of the town came from the nearby settlements of Lunenburg, Riverport and LaHave, constructing the first house around 1810 on the west bank of the river (although the first house in what is now the town was built before 1803).
The town was named after the bridge built over the LaHave River. The commissioners for the construction of the first bridge were three brothers-in-law, George Heb, John Weil and John Vienot.
The town was incorporated on February 13, 1899, one month after the Great Commercial Street Fire, which devastated the downtown core of the community, destroying buildings along both sides of what would become King Street for more than half a kilometre. The fire, which occurred on the night of January 12, 1899, is believed to have begun in the basement of the old music hall, located at what would, today, be the intersection of King and Dominion Streets.
For much of the 20th century, the town's economy depended on forestry and a large wood mill in the center of town, as well as the Nova Scotia Central Railway and later the Halifax and Southwestern Railway, for which the town acted as a central hub for the South Shore region. The Acadia Marine Engine Company was based in Bridgewater and it made fish boat and coaster engines.
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Wikipedia