Cornwallis River

The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 48 km through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower portion of the river beginning at Kentville is tidal and there are extensive tidal marshes in the lower reaches. In its upper watershed at Berwick, the river draws on the Caribou Bog while a longer branch continues to the official source, a stream on the North Mountain at Grafton.HistoryThe original peoples of the area, the Mi'kmaq, knew it as The Narrow River, or Chijekwtook There are also references to the Mi'kmaq calling the river Jijuktu'kwejk.The river was named Riviere St. Antoine by Samuel de Champlain after his arrival in the New World in the early 17th Century. Later it was called the Riviere des Habitants by the Acadians, who built a series of settlements around its mouth including the village of Grand-Pré and a smaller settlement further up the river at New Minas. The Acadians also built extensive dykelands in the area, although there is no clear evidence that the running dykes beside the river were built by them.