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The Quaker Whalers in Dartmouth
In 1785 and 1786 a fleet of whaling vessels sailed from Nantucket to Dartmouth. They carried a community of Quaker families and their household possessions as well as materials for houses and workshops. Their migration was decided upon because the British Government had imposed a punishing customs duty on whale oil entering Britain from the newly independent United States, then the whaler's principal market.
This could be avoided only by moving to a British colony such as Nova Scotia. They were encouraged to come to Dartmouth by the Nova Scotia Government which offered the settlers land and guaranteed their freedom to practise their Quaker faith. The community soon became established and prosperous and a Meeting House was built as a place of worship and as a community centre.
Then in 1792, at the
urging of the British government, almost the entire group left to settle in
Milford Haven in Wales leaving behind their homes, factory, gardens and
orchards. Today only one of their homes remains -
the Jackson
House, now a museum of Dartmouth's whaling days. On the downtown post
office a plaque commemorates the Meeting House and another by Dartmouth cove
marks the location of the factory.
email: halifax-info@quaker.ca
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