The Babel helps better understand the past
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Israel Longworth and his contribution to the recording of Colchester County’s early Englishspeaking settler history. One place which Longworth writes about is known as “the Babel.”
The Babel consisted of 60 acres of flat swampy land, enclosed by Smith’s Island and adjacent highlands, intersected by the boundary line between the former Upper and Lower Villages of Truro.
Longworth describes the area as very wet and marshy where several streams and runoff water gathered and accumulated in a low-lying spot. He writes that the early Planter settlers who travelled up the Cobequid Bay and arrived in Truro disembarked from ships and began to traverse inland until they reached the Babel and “became so disheartened with the prospect before them” that they began to sing the 137th Psalm, By the Rivers of Babylon:
“By Babel’s streams we sat and wept;
When Zion we thought on,
In midst thereof we hang’s our harps
The Willow trees upon.” This psalm refers to the despair of the Israelites, who were exiled from their homes in Jerusalem, and their desire and yearning to return.
One could only imagine how hopeless early settlers would have felt arriving after a long journey only to discover treacherous land. That said, I would argue that, despite the fact that marshland
is less desirable for dwellings, it had many benefits, including nutrient-rich soil and the fact that marshland did not need to be cleared as the woodlands did.
The Babel is an interesting plot of land that is somewhat difficult to pin down on a map but, essentially, it is bordered by present-day Robie Street, Elm Street, West Prince Street, and Mcclure’s Brook.
Whether or not “the Babel” included the land on the marsh that ran towards the river is not certain. Comparing Longworth’s references in A History of Colchester County to the A.F. Church map (circa 1874) and other maps of Truro, we are able to determine approximate boundaries.
For example, Longworth notes that the Babel had been drained “at the West end to grow cereals.” Upon examining the Church Map, both an oat kiln and a grist mill can be spotted along the brook (Mcclures), which indicates where the west end of the Babel was located. He also mentions, for example, Tannery Brook as being located at the back of S.G.W. Archibald’s. Archibald, and a tannery behind his residence, can be found on the Church Map and Roe’s Atlas (circa 1870s).
Longworth refers to property owners and farms such as A. Dunlop, S. Rettie (Cogswell Farm), O.C. Cummings, W. Nelson, W.S. Cox, and S.W.G Archibald. These names assist in establishing approximate boundaries for the area which he is referring to. He also speaks of tanneries, bridges, aboiteaus, sluices and brooks as well-known landmarks within the community at the time. Although some of these locations do not exist today or have since been renamed, maps provide us with the clues we need to establish approximate locations. Perhaps the biggest mysteries, which we could not confirm with maps, were names of waterways. Of particular interest in this case was a stream known then as “Moose Brook.” Although it has not been validated, we believe it is present-day Mcclure’s Brook based on its descriptions.
At the time Longworth wrote of the Babel (circa 1888), he noted that it had been known as such for nearly 125 years. Longworth believed that the land could be improved and yield many crops by being drained and tilled. Indeed, Thomas Miller had attempted to drain the Babel by creating streams and drains many years before Longworth wrote about the Babel. Longworth also wrote of recent attempts, in 1880, by Adam Dunlop to drain the Babel.
Longworth’s reference to the Babel is just one example of the “bread crumbs” he left for future generations to better understand the past.