South Shore opens its doors

Biennial Lahave River and Beyond Home Tour taking place Saturday, Aug. 11

The Fort Point Museum in Lahave is sponsoring its the fifth biennial home tour on Saturday, Aug. 11. The tour, titled, Lahave River and Beyond Home Tour, features six unique homes, each with a story. Two are old restored houses in the village of Lahave; another is on the Lighthouse Route slightly south of Lahave on the former Publicover land. There are two houses in Petite Riviere, and one on Fort Point Road, which is also the location of the Fort Point Museum.

The Lahave River and Beyond Home Tour has grown in popularity each year since 2010 and it is an important fundraiser for the museum, which is operated entirely by volunteers. It relies on individual donations and historic society memberships and is able to keep the museum open during the summer months with grants. The summer student grant applications from provincial and federal branches of government are fairly extensive and complicated, however, Fort Point has been successful in qualifying for at least two, and sometimes three, students each summer. Fort Point also applies for provincial and municipal operating grants.

Fort Point was declared the first capital of New France in the mid 1600s, and by the mid 1700s, the Foreign Protestants who had settled in Lunenburg and Mahone Bay started to settle along the west side of the Lahave. The village of Lahave grew to become a very active shipping and shipping supply community. The river road was lined with various warehouses and shipping supply businesses with gracious homes on the other side of the road. Today, Lahave has become an evergrowing cultural environment.

The Lahave River and Beyond Home Tour includes a tour of all six houses and the museum. Tour hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Blueberry buckle and rhubarb punch will be served at the museum between noon and 3 p.m. Call the museum at 902-688-1632 for tickets or ticket information.