Age of Sail Museum

For nearly 200 years, Nova Scotia’s Parrsborough Shore was a prominent shipbuilding center. Tall ships, fishing boats, pleasure yachts—all kinds of boats were built in this area. Though the region’s shipbuilding days have largely passed, their memory is preserved at the Age of Sail Museum.

This community-owned and operated museum complex sits on the site of an old shipyard and the main building is a historical old church. There are seven display buildings including a historical lighthouse, as well as a small café, a gift shop, outdoor displays, and a walkway. Thousands of artifacts are on display in exhibits about the lumbering, shipbuilding, and communities of the area.

Though hundreds of ships were built in this area, the shipbuilding industry was largely ended by a single storm in 1976. Known as the Groundhog Day Gale, this powerful winter storm swept through the northeast United States and Canada, leaving massive amounts of damage in its wake. The storm brought hurricane-force winds and significant flooding that damaged boats and piers all over Nova Scotia.

The view is stunning as the site is on a tidal river. The gulch is so scenic and calming and a great spot to just sit and contemplate life.