Pictou County

Pictou County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 46,513 people in 2006, which represents a decline of 6.3 percent from 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova Scotia. The origin of the name "Pictou" is obscure. Possible Mi'kmaq derivations include "Piktook" meaning an explosion of gas, and "Bucto" meaning fire, possibly related to the coal fields in the area. It might also be a corruption of Poictou, an old province in France. Nicolas Denys named the harbour La rivière de Pictou in the 1660s. Pictou County includes the towns of New Glasgow, Stellarton, Pictou, Westville and Trenton. Pictou County...