Bible Hill, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Bible Hill is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
village in Colchester County
Colchester County, Nova Scotia
Colchester County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:The appellation Colchester was applied in 1780 to the district previously called "Cobequid," and was derived from the town of Colchester in Essex...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. It lies on the north bank of the Salmon River
Salmon River (Nova Scotia)
The Salmon River is a Canadian river in central Nova Scotia's Colchester County.Rising in the Cobequid Hills in the central-northeastern part of the county, the river descends through a broad glacial valley at the head of Cobequid Bay, the eastern extremity of the Bay of Fundy...
, opposite the town of Truro
Truro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
.
Bible Hill functions as a suburb of Truro with several residential subdivisions. The village is home to Bible Hill Junior High
Bible Hill Junior High
Bible Hill Junior High is a Canadian junior high school located in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia. Bible Hill Junior High has been operating for approximately 25 years. It has approximately 550 students and a staff of 24 teachers. The building is 2 storeys, with a basement housing the Technical...
, Redcliff Middle School, Bible Hill East Court Elementary, and Bible Hill Central Elementary Schools and the Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Nova Scotia Agricultural College is a Canadian university college located in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, a village near the town of Truro. NSAC was officially founded February 14, 1905. In the early years, NSAC focused on educating farmers in aspects of field and animal husbandry...
.
History
The name Bible Hill is derived from a prominent hill which rises above the flood plain on the grounds of the Nova Scotia Agricultural CollegeNova Scotia Agricultural College
Nova Scotia Agricultural College is a Canadian university college located in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, a village near the town of Truro. NSAC was officially founded February 14, 1905. In the early years, NSAC focused on educating farmers in aspects of field and animal husbandry...
on the northern bank of the Salmon River.
It was believed that the hill took its name from Matthew Archibald
Matthew Archibald
Matthew Archibald was an Irish-born farmer, tanner and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Truro township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1785 to 1799....
(1745–1820), the son of one of the first Irish settlers in the area. He was locally renowned for his piety and extensive use of the Bible. It was thought that the name of the hill on which he lived came from his use of the bible. It is suggested that name stuck when Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
coined the term on one of his visits to this house on the hill. Contrary to this long-standing legend, the origin of the name is currently believed to have come from the work of Rev. Dr. William McCullough (1811–1895) several years later.
Coincidentally, McCullough resided in the house built by Matthew Archibald many years earlier. He was the minister of Truro’s First Presbyterian church (now First United Church) from 1839–1885, and had inherited an interest in Bible distribution from his father, Dr. Thomas McCullough, one of the founders of the Nova Scotia Bible Society
Bible society
A Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life...
. He distributed Bible’s, free of charge, to anyone who wanted one. Over the almost 50 years of Rev. McCullough’s ministry, the hill on which he lived, where one could obtain a Bible free of charge, became known as Bible Hill.
Bible Hill is also the home to Atlantic Canada's first Mosque, Islamic community centre, and Islamic cemetery, first established in 1960.