Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2016, the town's population was 6,271. Its census agglomeration is 26,222.

Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River which downstream from Kentville becomes a large tidal river. Kentville was the limit of navigation of sailing ships and more importantly was the most accessible crossing place on the river. The ford and later the bridge at Kentville made the settlement an important crossroads for settlements in the Annapolis Valley.

The area was first settled by Acadians, who built many dykes along the river to keep the high Bay of Fundy tides out of their farmland. These dykes created the ideal fertile soil that the Annapolis Valley is known for. The Acadians were expelled from the area in the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) by the British authorities because they would not swear allegiance to the British King. The area was then settled by New England Planters. Settlement was expedited by the United Empire Loyalists during the American Revolution.

The town was originally known as Horton's Corner, but was named Kentville in 1826 after Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (son of King George III and father of Queen Victoria), who resided in Nova Scotia from 1794-1800. The village was at first relatively small and dwarfed by larger valley towns with better harbours such as Canning and Wolfville. The crossroads location did attract early shopkeepers and several stagecoach inns. Small schooners were able to land cargos in the "Klondyke" neighhourhood by the Cornwallis River which marked the height of navigation. Kentville developed a reputation for rowdy drinking and horseraces in the early 19th century, earning the nickname "the Devil's half acre."

...
Wikipedia