Annapolis Iron
Mining Company
1825 – 1863
Photographs of
Monument
Clementsport
Annapolis County
Nova Scotia
Located on the north side of Highway One,
about 10m west from the Moose River bridge
GPS location: 44°39’39″N 65°36’16″W
Google map showing this location
Two historic monuments at Clementsport
Photographed on 6 October 2002
Annapolis Iron Mining Company monument (above)
Annapolis Iron Mining Company plaque (below)
Operations started in 1825
and terminated in 1863.
Photographed on 6 October 2002
Thanks to Mrs. Hannelore Fisher.
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Clementsport historic monuments adjacent to temporary bridge carrying Highway One over the Moose River, installed after the flood of 31 March 2003 Photographed on 13 June 2003 |
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Clementsport historic monuments adjacent to replacement bridge carrying Highway One over the Moose River, installed after the flood of 31 March 2003 Photographed on 29 December 2003 |
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“A large and handsome stone bridge has lately been built across the river, at the joint expense of the (Annapolis Iron Mining) Company and the Province…” —Thomas C. Haliburton, 1829:163-164 
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Map showing the location of the
Annapolis Iron Mining Company monument
Clementsport, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
Roads are shown as they were in 1978. Except for Highway 101, the
layout of the roads in 2013 has not changed much from that shown here.
Annapolis Iron Mining CompanyIn the village of Clementsport, Annapolis County, in the 1820s “a company was formed under the auspices of two American men, for the working of the valuable iron mines in the neighbourhood. Smelting furnaces were constructed and coalsheds and other buildings” necessary for their business were erected. “The beds of iron ore which they worked are situated to the southward of the village, and at a distance of about three miles five kilomteres from it.” Moses Shaw (senior) of Clementsport was instrumental in setting up the Annapolis Iron Mining Company which was incorporated in 1826. Iron ore was transported from the quarry along a railway built with maple rails, to the furnace at the mouth of the Moose River. Stoves and iron hollow-ware (pots, kettles, etc.) were cast in the foundry nearby. Power was provided from an undershot water wheel. Local farmers made charcoal and sold it to the company for use in the blast furnace. The dam wall and archway remain as part of our present-day (2000) road bridge. The trip hammer used for crushing the ore can be seen at the parking lot by the bridge (the old village square). Many acres of land granted to Loyalist settlers in Clements Township only about forty years earlier, in 1784, along with ungranted land were bought and used for the mining of ore and manufacturing. L.V. Shaw, Moses Shaw’s grandson, has written about this rather important and interesting episode in the history of Clements. [Digby Courier, 14 June 2000] |
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The above was excerpted from a report in the Digby Courier of a meeting of the Upper Clements Historical Society held on May 4th, 2000. The quotes are from The History of the County of Annapolis, by W.A. Calnek, published in 1897. |
Annapolis Iron Mining CompanyRelevant Acts and Proceedings of the Legislature
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