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The
Icelandic Memorial Society of Nova Scotia
was incorporated on July 29, 1998 to educate the public
about Nova Scotia's Icelandic past. By sharing the history of the
Icelandic settlers
in Nova Scotia during the late 1800s, we hope to assist and
encourage their descendents and others to preserve this part of Nova Scotia's heritage.
As a millennium project, the
Society erected a memorial cairn in each of the settlements.
Dedication ceremonies were held at the cairn sites August 26, 2000 at
Markland and August 27, 2000 in Lockeport. The Viking ship
Islendingur arrived in Lockeport on August
27 to join in the
celebrations.
The Honourable Rodney MacDonald, Minister of Tourism for Nova
Scotia
proclaims the old settlement to be officially known as Markland.
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| Mrs. Eleanor Belmore, The
Honourable Sturla Böðvarsson Minister of
Transportation, Communication and Tourism, Republic of
Iceland and The Honourable Rodney MacDonald unveiling the
cairn. |
Minister Böðvarsson, Mrs Belmore and Minister MacDonald |
Work continues to locate old homesteads in the
Markland Settlement, and a future project is to build a replica
of one or more of the old homes. With the consent of the present
day landowners, the Society has established a network of trails
throughout the old settlement.
When you visit, please remember that this is an isolated
area and private property. Dress for hiking and please respect both the
landowners and nature.
To provide further information
on these settlements, Society members are conducting research in
Iceland, at the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, Public Archives of Nova Scotia site and in the local
areas to gather more details about the Markland and
Lockeport settlements. If you would like more information or have any
information to share, please contact the Society
Executive.
The Settlements
The information contained within these pages was researched by Don and Leona Gislison of Toronto, Ontario, Dolly Belmore of Caribou Mines, J. Marshall Burgess of Halifax and Harlen Redden of Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia.
Additional material and photographs have been supplied by descendents of these early settlers.
To see the counties and parishes these families came from, visit Halfdan Helgason's
"The Emmigration from Iceland to North America".
These settler stories are great gifts!
 NEW!
The Young Icelander by:
Jðhann
Magnus Bjarnason. Translated by Borga Jakobson from Erikur
Hansson: A Novel from Nova Scotia.
Available from the
Society
for $23.00 (S+H incl.) Order form
here >
 The Story of Markland
on CD was written by Society member Ken Burrows
with narration and music by Bill Stevenson. This poignant and moving musical story tells of the struggle of the Icelandic settlers during their seven years in Markland, and will leave the listener with
a deeper understanding and compassion for these hardy, honest, hard working souls
who have contributed so much to the Americas.
Available from the
Society
for $13.00 (S+H incl.) Order form
here >
Errand Boy in the Mooseland Hills by Magnus Bjarnason has been translated by
Society member Borga Jakobson and published by
Formac Publishing Co. Ltd. and is available in
most Canadian bookstores or from the Society
for $23.00 (S+H incl.) Order form here >
The
English translation of the book Markland
- Remembrance of the Years 1875-1881 has been reprinted for the Society with the kind
permission of Guðbrandur Erlendsson's descendents and is
available for $18.00 (S+H incl.) from the Society. Order
form here >
The
Icelanders of Kinmount - An
Experiment in Settlement by Donald E. Gislason is
available from the Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto.
"Kinmount Memorial Project"
The Society acknowledges the support provided by:
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| Millennium
Bureau of Canada
| Halifax Regional Municipality
2000 Committee |
Millennium
125 Commission |
and the Members for the projects that were undertaken.
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Updated 13 Dec 2011
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