Ball’s Creek, Nova Scotia (1881 census)
Ball’s Creek was a census subdivision in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 2,529. The administrative centroid was at approximately 46.127°N, 60.344°W.
Population
In 1881, Ball’s Creek had a population of 2,529: 1,277 male and 1,252 female residents. Population density was 26.5 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2,268 |
| 1881 | 2,529 |
| 1891 | 1,207 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Boundary continuity (non-identical overlaps)
Spatial polygon overlaps with adjacent census years where the boundary shifted enough that the SAME_AS chain didn't merge them. These show where the territory came from and went to even when it isn't tracked as the same persistent place.
Later boundary forms
- In a later year, this CSD contained Ball’s Creek, 1891 (74.6% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Leitche’s Creek, 1891 (25.4% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Ball’s Creek shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 100 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| FAM NO | 427 |
| Number of families | 427 |
| Number of females | 1,252 |
| Number of males | 1,277 |
| Number of married females | 333 |
| Number of married males | 329 |
| Number of married persons | 662 |
| Number of widowed females | 83 |
| Number of widowed males | 19 |
| Number of widowed persons | 102 |
| POP TOT | 2,529 |
| Total population | 2,529 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 836 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 929 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 1,765 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 6 |
| Number of houses under construction | 5 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 408 |
| Number of occupied houses | 414 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 11 |
Agriculture (27 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 2,747 |
| Acres of potatoes | 507 |
| Acres of wheat | 307 |
| BAR BU | 1,286 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 1,286 |
| Bushels of buckwheat produced in the past year | 30 |
| Bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed produced in the past year | 38 |
| Bushels of corn produced in the past year | 2 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 17,086 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 804 |
| Bushels of peas and beans produced in the past year | 64 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 50,081 |
| Bushels of spring wheat produced in the past year | 3,660 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 3,301 |
| Bushels of winter wheat produced in the past year | 10 |
| BWT BU | 30 |
| CRN BU | 2 |
| HAY AC | 2,747 |
| HAY TONS | 3,741 |
| OAT BU | 17,086 |
| PEA AND BEN BU | 64 |
| POT AC | 507 |
| POT BU | 50,081 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 3,741 |
| WHT AC | 307 |
| WHT SP BU | 3,660 |
| WHT WTR BU | 10 |
Fisheries (16 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Barrels of eels produced in the past year | 36 |
| Barrels of gaspareaux produced in the past year | 3 |
| Barrels of herring or alewives produced in the past year | 656 |
| Barrels of mackerel produced in the past year | 45 |
| Barrels of other fish produced in the past year | 4 |
| Barrels of oysters produced in the past year | 25 |
| Barrels of trout produced in the past year | 5 |
| Fathoms of fishing nets | 3,110 |
| Gallons of fish oil produced in the past year | 158 |
| Number of fishing boats | 88 |
| Number of fishing vessels | 2 |
| Number of men on fishing boats | 93 |
| Number of men on fishing vessels | 4 |
| Number of shoremen | 21 |
| Quintals of cod produced in the past year | 213 |
| Quintals of haddock, hake, or pollock produced in the past year | 18 |
Other recorded variables (37 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BBL HERR OR ALE | 656 |
| BOAT MEN Q | 93 |
| BOATS FOR FISH | 88 |
| C UNMD F | 836 |
| C UNMD M | 929 |
| C UNMD TOT | 1,765 |
| CD NAME | Cape Breton |
| COD DX K | 213 |
| D OCC | 414 |
| EEL XB Q | 36 |
| FEMALE | 1,252 |
| GAL FISH OIL | 158 |
| GRA BU | 38 |
| GSP XB Q | 3 |
| H CON | 5 |
| H INHAB | 408 |
| H UNINH | 11 |
| HAD DX K | 18 |
| MALE | 1,277 |
| MCK XB Q | 45 |
| MD F | 333 |
| MD M | 329 |
| MD TOT | 662 |
| NET XX F | 3,110 |
| NUMBER CD | 6 |
| OTHFISH XB Q | 4 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 804 |
| OYS XB Q | 25 |
| SHAN | 6 |
| SHOREMEN XX Q | 21 |
| TRT XB Q | 5 |
| TUR BU | 3,301 |
| VESSEL MEN Q | 4 |
| VESSEL XX Q | 2 |
| WID F | 83 |
| WID M | 19 |
| WID TOT | 102 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS006005— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS028001— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: not yet grounded. This page covers a place whose persistent identity has not yet been linked to a Wikidata entity. Identification is via TCP UID and spatial polygon only.
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1881 Census of Canada, transcribed and georeferenced by the Canadian Peoples / TCP project, hosted at the HGIS Lab, University of Saskatchewan. Persistent place identity computed from spatial-overlap chains across all available census years (1851–1921). Identity grounding to Wikidata performed via the HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph project's MCP-assisted disambiguation pipeline. See the About / Methodology page for the full data pipeline.
Cite this page
Clifford, J. (2026). "Ball’s Creek, Nova Scotia (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/ball-s-creek-ns006005-1881/.