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| area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = 17.08| area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = 17.84| area_metro_km2 = 609.76| population_as_of = 2021WEBSITE=STATISTICS CANADA, 2021 CENSUS OF POPULATION. PUBLISHER=STATISTICS CANADA, 16 February 2022, | population_note = | population_total = 6,630| population_density_km2 = 388.2| population_metro = 26,929| population_density_metro_km2 = 44.4| population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | population_blank1_title = Change (2016-21)| population_blank1 = {{gain}}5.7| population_blank2_title = | population_blank2 = Atlantic Standard Time>AST| utc_offset = -4| timezone_DST = ADT| utc_offset_DST = -345396445region:CA-NS|display=inline,title}}| elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 31| elevation_ft = 102Canadian postal code>Postal code(s)List of B postal codes of Canada>B4N| area_code = {hide}Collapsible list Canadian dollar>CDNNational Topographic System>NTS Map| blank2_info = Geographical Names Board of Canada>GNBC Code| blank3_info = weblink}}| footnotes = *Median household income, 2005 (all households)}}Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929.

History

Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River which, downstream from Kentville, becomes a large tidal river at the Minas Basin. The riverbank at the current location of Kentville provided an easy fording point. The Mi'kmaq name for the location was "Penooek".C. Bruce Fergusson, "Kentville", Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Archives (1967), p. 326. The ford and later the bridge in Kentville made the area an important crossroads for other settlements in the Annapolis Valley. Kentville also marked the limit of navigation of sailing ships.

Acadian settlement

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.

English settlement

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 to 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.Louis V. Comeau, Historic Kentville Halifax: Nimbus Publishing (2003) p. 83 Kentville developed a reputation for rowdy drinking and horse races in the early 19th century, earning the nickname "The Devil's Half Acre." Celebrated local musician, Chase Ross, later released an album entitled "Devil's Half Acre" to critical acclaim in the early years of the new millennium.

Growth

File:W&ARGabriel.jpg|275px|left|thumb|1870}}When the Windsor and Annapolis Railway (later named Dominion Atlantic Railway) established its headquarters in Kentville in 1868 and began shipping Annapolis Valley apples to British markets, the community began to thrive. The railway not only employed a large number of people (up to a third of the town's population), but also attracted other industries such as mills, dairies, a large foundry, and a carriage works which even entered automobile production. A branch line of the Dominion Atlantic, the Cornwallis Valley Railway, was built north to Canning and Kingsport in 1889, further developing the apple industry and creating a suburban line for workers, shoppers and schoolchildren to commute to and from Kentville. The railway also attracted large institutional developments such as a regional TB hospital, the Kentville Sanitorium, a federal agricultural research station, and an army training base at Camp Aldershot."Kentville", Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative(File:Kentville Railway Station platform and Aberdeen Street with Dominion Atlantic Railway train approaching, circa 1910.jpg|thumb|left|Aberdeen Street, Kentville as passenger train arrives, {{Circa|1910}})The town became a major travel centre highlighted by the large Cornwallis Inn built at the town's centre by the railway. The town boomed during World War I and World War II with heavy wartime railway traffic on the Dominion Atlantic and the training of thousands of troops at Camp Aldershot. Many residents fought overseas in the local West Nova Scotia Regiment as well as other branches of service. A Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper {{HMCS|Kentville|J312|6}} was named after the town, and her crew often took leave in Kentville.

Post war challenges

Kentville faced serious challenges after World War II. The dominant apple industry suffered severe declines due to the loss of its British export market. The nearby military training base at Camp Aldershot was significantly downsized and the town's major employer, the Dominion Atlantic Railway suffered serious declines with the collapse of the apple industry and the growth of highway travel. Further decline followed in the 1970s as the town lost its retail core to the growth of shopping malls and later "big box" stores in nearby New Minas. The town was also eclipsed in restaurant, upscale retail and cultural institutions by the nearby university town of Wolfville.Louis V. Comeau, Historic Kentville Halifax: Nimbus Publishing (2003) p. ix Railway passenger service ended in 1990. Freight service ended in October 1993 and the Kentville rail shops were closed and moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia. Kentville lost many heritage buildings in the postwar period and is one of the only towns in Nova Scotia without a single designated heritage building. Major losses included the large railway station, one of the most historic in Canada which was demolished in 1990. In July 2007 the town demolished the last railway structure in town, the DAR Roundhouse, despite a province-wide protest, a move which earned the Town of Kentville a place on the "2008 Worst" List of the Heritage Canada Foundation.Heritage Canada Foundation 2008 Worst List {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513182524weblink |date=May 13, 2008 }}

Demographics

{{stack|{{Historical populations17312304271730333928424049374612497452085506555156105815609462716630Census 1956-1961 {{webarchive>url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822231738weblink |date=August 22, 2016 }}WEB,weblink 2001 Census of Canada Nova Scotia Perspective, Nova Scotia Department of Finance Statistics Division, 2002, November 27, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131005011332weblink">weblink October 5, 2013, dead, mdy-all, WEB,weblink Census Profile, 2016 Census - Kentville, Town [Census subdivision], Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia [Province], February 8, 2017, }}}}In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Kentville had a population of {{nts|6630}} living in {{nts|2956}} of its {{nts|3090}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:6630-6271}}|6271|1}} from its 2016 population of {{nts|6271}}. With a land area of {{convert|17.08|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|6630|17.08|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.WEB,weblink Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Nova Scotia, Statistics Canada, February 9, 2022, March 12, 2022,

Industries

During the early part of the 20th century Kentville emerged as the business centre of Kings County and despite the post-war loss of commerce to other valley communities, it remains the professional centre of the Annapolis Valley. Kentville is home to numerous professional services such as lawyers offices, doctors, and investment firms. On the outskirts of the town is the Valley Regional Hospital, built in 1991. The town is also home to the Annapolis Valley Regional Industrial Park which employs numerous people in the area through a variety of different businesses.Agriculture, especially fruit crops such as apples, remain a prominent industry in the Kentville area, and throughout the eastern part of the valley. Kentville is home to one of the largest agricultural research facilities in Nova Scotia founded in 1911, known to the locals as The Research Station. The site now employs over 200 people and sits on {{convert|473|acre|km2}} of the land at the east end of the town.Kentville shares its northern boundary along the Cornwallis River with Camp Aldershot, a military training base founded in 1904. At its peak during World War II, the camp housed approximately 7000 soldiers. Kentville native Donald Ripley wrote a book chronicling Camp Aldershot and its effect on the town entitled On The Home Front.Ripley, Donald: "On the Home Front: Wartime Life in Camp Aldershot and Kentville, N. S." Halifax: Nimbus, 1991 WEB,weblink Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage | News, 2006-06-27, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20050311182108weblink">weblink March 11, 2005, Today the camp functions as an army reserve training centre and is the headquarters of The West Nova Scotia Regiment.

Electric utility (sold 1997)

Kentville until 1997-8 was one of seven Nova Scotia towns (along with Riverport, Berwick, Canso, Antigonish, Lunenburg and Mahone Bay) to own its own electricity distribution utility within town limits – the Kentville Electric Commission. When the other six joined into the Municipal Electric Utilities of Nova Scotia in January 1998,weblink Kentville instead sold its utility to Nova Scotia Power, a privately owned generator and distributor whose service area covered the rest of the province.

Community events

The Apple Blossom Festival, founded in 1933 is held each May to celebrate the blossoming of local apple industry, one of the region's richest forms of agriculture.Kentville is also well known for its Pumpkin People Festival {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627173155weblink |date=27 June 2018 }}.Other Annual Festivals and Events hosted in Kentville:Devil's Half Acre Motorcycle RallyOpen Street Chalk Art Festival {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627173516weblink |date=27 June 2018 }}Kentville Multicultural Festival {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627173140weblink |date=27 June 2018 }} (currently the largest Multicultural Festival in NS)Kentville Harvest FestivalKBC's Great Big Country Fair

Climate

Kentville experiences a humid continental climate (Dfb). The highest temperature ever recorded in Kentville was {{convert|37.8|C|0}} on 12 August 1944. The coldest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|-31.1|C|0}} on 1 February 1920. Kentville's USDA Hardiness zone is 6a.WEB, Nova Scotia Interactive Plant Hardiness Zone Map,weblink 2021-03-02, plantmaps.com, en, {{Weather boxAtlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre>Kentville CDA, 1981–2010 normals,{{efn|Temperature normals are averaged from Kentville CDA for the period 1981–1996 and Kentville CDA CS for the period 1996–2007.}} extremes 1913–present|metric first = yes|single line = yes|Jan maximum humidex = 18.1|Feb maximum humidex = 17.3|Mar maximum humidex = 25.7|Apr maximum humidex = 27.0|May maximum humidex = 34.0|Jun maximum humidex = 40.0|Jul maximum humidex = 42.0|Aug maximum humidex = 42.0|Sep maximum humidex = 38.0|Oct maximum humidex = 32.0|Nov maximum humidex = 26.0|Dec maximum humidex = 18.5|Jan record high C = 18.1|Feb record high C = 17.3|Mar record high C = 25.7|Apr record high C = 30.1|May record high C = 32.5|Jun record high C = 35.0|Jul record high C = 36.1|Aug record high C = 37.8|Sep record high C = 33.8|Oct record high C = 28.3|Nov record high C = 23.7|Dec record high C = 18.5|year record high C = 37.8|Jan high C = -1.2|Feb high C = -0.4|Mar high C = 3.5|Apr high C = 9.7|May high C = 16.5|Jun high C = 21.8|Jul high C = 25.2|Aug high C = 24.7|Sep high C = 20.2|Oct high C = 13.7|Nov high C = 7.9|Dec high C = 2.1|year high C = 12.0|Jan mean C = -5.3|Feb mean C = -4.7|Mar mean C = -0.8|Apr mean C = 5.2|May mean C = 11.1|Jun mean C = 16.3|Jul mean C = 19.8|Aug mean C = 19.3|Sep mean C = 15.2|Oct mean C = 9.4|Nov mean C = 4.3|Dec mean C = -1.5|year mean C = 7.4|Jan low C = -9.4|Feb low C = -8.9|Mar low C = -5.0|Apr low C = 0.6|May low C = 5.7|Jun low C = 10.7|Jul low C = 14.2|Aug low C = 13.9|Sep low C = 10.2|Oct low C = 4.9|Nov low C = 0.7|Dec low C = -5.2|year low C = 2.7|Jan record low C = -30.6|Feb record low C = -31.1|Mar record low C = -27.8|Apr record low C = -15.0|May record low C = -6.7|Jun record low C = -1.7|Jul record low C = 2.8|Aug record low C = 2.2|Sep record low C = -3.3|Oct record low C = -8.3|Nov record low C = -16.1|Dec record low C = -25.6|year record low C = -31.1|Jan dew point C = -5.6|Feb dew point C = -7.1|Mar dew point C = -4.7|Apr dew point C = -2.6|May dew point C = 3.6|Jun dew point C = 10.9|Jul dew point C = 15.5|Aug dew point C = 13.2|Sep dew point C = 10.2|Oct dew point C = 5.7|Nov dew point C = 2.4|Dec dew point C = -0.6|Jan chill = -35|Feb chill = -35|Mar chill = -28|Apr chill = -17|May chill = -6|Jun chill = -3|Jul chill = 2.8|Aug chill = 2.2|Sep chill = -2|Oct chill = -6|Nov chill = -20|Dec chill = -30|year chill = -35|precipitation colour = green|Jan precipitation mm = 116.1|Feb precipitation mm = 101.3|Mar precipitation mm = 109.8|Apr precipitation mm = 92.7|May precipitation mm = 102.1|Jun precipitation mm = 81.6|Jul precipitation mm = 84.0|Aug precipitation mm = 76.7|Sep precipitation mm = 84.4|Oct precipitation mm = 89.0|Nov precipitation mm = 121.5|Dec precipitation mm = 122.0|year precipitation mm = 1181.2|rain colour = green|Jan rain mm = 50.8|Feb rain mm = 46.3|Mar rain mm = 67.1|Apr rain mm = 73.8|May rain mm = 97.3|Jun rain mm = 81.6|Jul rain mm = 84.0|Aug rain mm = 76.7|Sep rain mm = 84.4|Oct rain mm = 89.0|Nov rain mm = 108.9|Dec rain mm = 70.9|year rain mm = 930.8|Jan snow cm = 71.4|Feb snow cm = 59.2|Mar snow cm = 45.2|Apr snow cm = 17.2|May snow cm = 4.0|Jun snow cm = 0.0|Jul snow cm = 0.0|Aug snow cm = 0.0|Sep snow cm = 0.0|Oct snow cm = 0.0|Nov snow cm = 12.9|Dec snow cm = 53.1|year snow cm = 263.0|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm|Jan precipitation days = 17.5|Feb precipitation days = 14.8|Mar precipitation days = 13.6|Apr precipitation days = 13.9|May precipitation days = 14.1|Jun precipitation days = 12.6|Jul precipitation days = 11.7|Aug precipitation days = 10.9|Sep precipitation days = 11.0|Oct precipitation days = 13.6|Nov precipitation days = 15.7|Dec precipitation days = 17.2|year precipitation days = 166.6|unit rain days = 0.2 mm|Jan rain days = 6.9|Feb rain days = 5.5|Mar rain days = 7.8|Apr rain days = 12.1|May rain days = 14.0|Jun rain days = 12.6|Jul rain days = 11.7|Aug rain days = 10.9|Sep rain days = 11.0|Oct rain days = 13.6|Nov rain days = 13.9|Dec rain days = 9.0|year rain days = 129.0|unit snow days = 0.2 cm|Jan snow days = 13.1|Feb snow days = 11.6|Mar snow days = 8.3|Apr snow days = 3.6|May snow days = 0.31|Jun snow days = 0.0|Jul snow days = 0.0|Aug snow days = 0.0|Sep snow days = 0.0|Oct snow days = 0.0|Nov snow days = 2.9|Dec snow days = 10.7|year snow days = 50.5|Jan sun = 77.8|Feb sun = 101.6|Mar sun = 133.0|Apr sun = 156.5|May sun = 198.9|Jun sun = 214.0|Jul sun = 234.8|Aug sun = 225.9|Sep sun = 178.4|Oct sun = 141.3|Nov sun = 78.6|Dec sun = 65.0|year sun = 1805.7|Jan percentsun = 27.3|Feb percentsun = 34.6|Mar percentsun = 36.0|Apr percentsun = 38.7|May percentsun = 43.2|Jun percentsun = 45.9|Jul percentsun = 49.7|Aug percentsun = 51.8|Sep percentsun = 47.3|Oct percentsun = 41.5|Nov percentsun = 27.3|Dec percentsun = 23.7|year percentsun = 38.9|source 1 = Environment CanadaWEB, Environment Canada,weblink Kentville CDA, Nova Scotia, Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 access-date = 9 May 2015, WEB, Environment Canada,weblink Kentville CDA CS, Nova Scotia, Canadian Climate Data, 27 June 2015, {{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}WEB, Environment Canada,weblink December 2008, Canadian Climate Data access-date = 27 June 2015, WEB, Environment Canada,weblink April 2009, Canadian Climate Data access-date = 27 June 2015, WEB, Environment Canada,weblink September 2010, Canadian Climate Data access-date = 27 June 2015, WEB, Environment Canada,weblink March 2012, Canadian Climate Data access-date = 27 June 2015, WEB, Environment Canada,weblink Daily Data Report for February 2016, Canadian Climate Data access-date = 17 February 2017, WEB, Environment Canada,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20201031083611weblink">weblink dead, 2020-10-31, Kentville cda cs, Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010, 17 February 2017, WEB, Dew Point - Monthly data for Kentville, NS,weblink 23 March 2021, weatherstats.ca, en, WEB, Snow on Ground - Monthly Data for Kentville, NS,weblink 23 March 2021, weatherstats.ca, en, WEB, Relative Humidity - Monthly Data for Kentville, NS,weblink 23 March 2021, weatherstats.ca, en, WEB, Environment Canada,weblink November 2022, Canadian Climate Dataaccess-date = November 7, 2022, }}

Famous residents

(From in or near Kentville, including the former Township of Cornwallis)

• Composer Robert Aitken
• Former NHLer Jerry Byers
• Actor Peter Donat
• Inventor of kerosene Abraham Gesner
• Comedian Jay Malone
• Linguist Silas Tertius Rand
• Zoologist Austin L. Rand
• Boxer Bryan Gibson
• CFL All Canadian Bruce Beaton
• Blue Man Group member Scott Bishop WEB,weblink Interview: The Blueman Group's Scott Bishop, blogTO,
• Blues Guitarist Dutch Mason
• Filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray
• Author Maria Mutch
• Federal Cabinet Minister Anita Anand (professor)
• MLS Forward Jacob Shaffelburg
• Author and musician Thibault Jacquot-Paratte

Education

Education in the area is serviced by Kings County Academy in Kentville, serving grades primary through eight, the local high school is Northeast Kings Education Centre, located 15–20 minutes away in Canning. There are also several post secondary institutions, the Kingstec campus of the Nova Scotia Community College is located on the northern fringe of the town and Acadia Universityweblink, is located in nearby Wolfville. The town operates a library and C@P site. Kentville is also home to the Kings County Museum, located in Kentville's old courthouse.Other nearby elementary schools include the Aldershot Elementary School, and the Glooscap Elementary School.

Recreation

Kentville also boasts a number of high quality recreational facilities. The Kentville Arena (now the Kentville Centennial Arena) is thought to have hosted the first ever summer ice hockey school. The town also houses a large indoor soccer arena and numerous other outdoor baseball and soccer fields, and playgrounds for local children. Kentville Memorial Park (considered to be one of the best baseball parks in Canada east of Montreal) is home to the Kentville Wildcats, a senior baseball team, who have won several NSSBL championships and one Canadian championship.Kentville swimming pool is home to the Kentville Marlins Swim Team.

Sister city

• {{Flagicon|CAN}} Camrose, Alberta, Canada
• {{Flagicon|Italy}} Castel di Sangro, Abruzzo, Italy WEB,weblink Kentville twins with Italian town Castel di Sangro {{!, The Register/Advertiser|last=Duke|first=Laura Churchill|website=www.kingscountynews.ca|language=en|access-date=2019-09-08}}Archived at Ghostarchive{{cbignore}} and the weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20201120152543weblink">Wayback Machine{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=Kentville and Castel di Sangro Twinning – Official video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zezv_TlvoQ&vl=en|language=en|access-date=2019-09-08}}{{cbignore}}

See also

• List of municipalities in Nova Scotia
• Royal eponyms in Canada

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

• The Devil's Half Acre: A Look at Kentville's Past Mable Nichols, Kentville Centennial Committee, 1968.
• Historic Kentville Louis V. Comeau, Nimbus, 2003.

External links

{{Commons category|Kentville, Nova Scotia}}{{NIE Poster|Kentville}}

• Town of Kentville Official Site

{{Kings County}}{{Subdivisions of Nova Scotia}}{{Authority control}}