Title and statement of responsibility area: Amherst Body of Marsh fonds

Date(s) of creation: 1882-1923
Physical description area: 9 cm of textual records

Administrative History: The Amherst Body of Marsh was established on 18 January 1882, at Amherst, Nova Scotia. Thirty proprietors gathered to propose to government a project to reclaim a large body of marshland located between what was then known as the Township of Amherst and the Township of Fort Lawrence. The marshland encompassed hundreds of acres of land owned by several dozen people. The proprietors were owners of two-thirds of the marshland, and their corporation was established to improve the drainage of the marsh, which would benefit all who owned sections of the marsh. Their proposal was passed and they worked jointly with the Honorable Hiram Black, Commissioner of Sewers of Cumberland County, to repair the existing dyke systems ad to per form continuous maintenance. Thomas Lusby of Amherst was appointed the first clerk. Interest in the upkeep of the dyke appears to have waned in the 1910s and died out by 1923.

Scope and content: Fonds consists of two ledgers which served as day books, letter books, and account books. They contain membership lists and traces the evolution of the company. The fonds also contains two day books which were used to record the work done on the dyke. Also included are several pieces of correspondence, a survey done by the government to gauge the benefits of the project to all marsh land owners and a copy of the 1928 Cumberland Sewers Act.

Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of fonds.

Retrieval Code: RG2 82-11- 1, 2, 6 and 8

Provenance: Amherst Body of Marsh (firm, Cumberland County, NS)

Topical: Dykes, Lusby, Cumberland County (NS), Cooperation