Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Shag Harbour is a small fishing village found along the South Shore
of Nova Scotia. It is one of several small villages found in the Municipality of Barrington
, Shelburne County
. It has a population of roughly 400-450. The main occupations centre around lobster
fishing, which takes place from November to May.
Shag Harbour contains a bed and breakfast
, a post office
, two wharves
, two Baptist
churches, the Shag Harbour UFO Museum and Chapel Hill Museum. The Chapel Hill Museum (c. 1856) is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
Evelyn Richardson Memorial Elementary School nuzzles the border between Shag Harbour and neighbouring Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia
. Its name honours local author Evelyn Richardson
who lived on a small island adjacent to Shag Harbour. Bon Portage Island, or Outer Island as it is known to locals, was the setting for Richardson's award-winning non-fiction.
sighting. On October 4, 1967, a strange sight was reported over the skies near the coastal community of Shag Harbour. Multiple people saw a chain of lights in the sky, which seemed to angle down and impact into the ocean near Shag Harbour. Thinking that an aircraft may have crashed, witnesses called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
. RCMP officers at the scene and other witnesses saw a light bobbing on the surface, which started drifting out to sea and soon went out.
A rescue effort was quickly assembled. A large swath of thick yellow foam was witnessed in the water by fishermen and other rescuers who aided in the search for possible survivors. They were soon joined by a Coast Guard cutter. Government agencies quickly ruled out a plane crash when none were reported missing, and other possibilities were ruled out as well, such as flares. The unknown object was then officially classified as a "UFO". The Royal Canadian Navy
soon launched an underwater search for possible debris, but officially nothing was ever found and the object was never identified.
Several TV documentaries and a book have surfaced in wake of the incident.
South Shore (Nova Scotia)
The South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Although it has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries, it is generally understood as the Atlantic coast running southwest from Halifax Harbour to the end of Shelburne County...
of Nova Scotia. It is one of several small villages found in the Municipality of Barrington
Barrington, Nova Scotia
Barrington is a municipal district in western Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.Barrington forms the southernmost part of the province and contains Cape Sable, the eastern boundary between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine.- Demographics :...
, Shelburne County
Shelburne County, Nova Scotia
Shelburne County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:Shelburne County was founded in 1784 shortly following the influx of Loyalist settlers evacuated from the newly independent United States of America...
. It has a population of roughly 400-450. The main occupations centre around lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
fishing, which takes place from November to May.
Shag Harbour contains a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, two wharves
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
, two Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches, the Shag Harbour UFO Museum and Chapel Hill Museum. The Chapel Hill Museum (c. 1856) is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
Evelyn Richardson Memorial Elementary School nuzzles the border between Shag Harbour and neighbouring Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia
Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia
Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia could be one of the following communities:*Central Woods Harbour*Lower Woods Harbour*Upper Woods Harbour...
. Its name honours local author Evelyn Richardson
Evelyn M. Richardson
Evelyn M. Richardson, born Evelyn May Fox was a Canadian writer who won the Governor General's Award in non-fiction for her 1945 memoir, We Keep a Light. The annual Evelyn Richardson Memorial Literary Award is given in her honour to a Nova Scotia writer of non-fiction.-Life:She was born on Emerald...
who lived on a small island adjacent to Shag Harbour. Bon Portage Island, or Outer Island as it is known to locals, was the setting for Richardson's award-winning non-fiction.
UFO Incident
Shag Harbour is relatively well-known for its 1967 UFOUnidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
sighting. On October 4, 1967, a strange sight was reported over the skies near the coastal community of Shag Harbour. Multiple people saw a chain of lights in the sky, which seemed to angle down and impact into the ocean near Shag Harbour. Thinking that an aircraft may have crashed, witnesses called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
. RCMP officers at the scene and other witnesses saw a light bobbing on the surface, which started drifting out to sea and soon went out.
A rescue effort was quickly assembled. A large swath of thick yellow foam was witnessed in the water by fishermen and other rescuers who aided in the search for possible survivors. They were soon joined by a Coast Guard cutter. Government agencies quickly ruled out a plane crash when none were reported missing, and other possibilities were ruled out as well, such as flares. The unknown object was then officially classified as a "UFO". The Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
soon launched an underwater search for possible debris, but officially nothing was ever found and the object was never identified.
Several TV documentaries and a book have surfaced in wake of the incident.