Year: 1881
| Province: Nova Scotia
| County: Cape Breton
Cow Bay, Nova Scotia (1881 census)
Cow Bay was a census subdivision in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 2,117. The administrative centroid was at approximately 46.100°N, 59.910°W.
Population
In 1881, Cow Bay had a population of 2,117: 1,105 male and 1,012 female residents. Population density was 64.8 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|
| 1871 | 1,986 |
| 1881 | 2,117 |
| 1891 | 2,104 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Cow Bay shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 96 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| FAM NO | 378 |
| Number of families | 378 |
| Number of females | 1,012 |
| Number of males | 1,105 |
| Number of married females | 317 |
| Number of married males | 319 |
| Number of married persons | 636 |
| Number of widowed females | 63 |
| Number of widowed males | 12 |
| Number of widowed persons | 75 |
| POP TOT | 2,117 |
| Total population | 2,117 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 632 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 774 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 1,406 |
Buildings & housing (4 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Number of houses under construction | 6 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 337 |
| Number of occupied houses | 337 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 30 |
Agriculture (27 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 506 |
| Acres of potatoes | 158 |
| Acres of wheat | 22 |
| BAR BU | 370 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 370 |
| Bushels of buckwheat produced in the past year | 15 |
| Bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed produced in the past year | 2 |
| Bushels of corn produced in the past year | 4 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 6,125 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 57 |
| Bushels of peas and beans produced in the past year | 31 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 21,501 |
| Bushels of rye produced in the past year | 4 |
| Bushels of spring wheat produced in the past year | 444 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 997 |
| BWT BU | 15 |
| CRN BU | 4 |
| HAY AC | 506 |
| HAY TONS | 707 |
| OAT BU | 6,125 |
| PEA AND BEN BU | 31 |
| POT AC | 158 |
| POT BU | 21,501 |
| RYE BU | 4 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 707 |
| WHT AC | 22 |
| WHT SP BU | 444 |
Fisheries (15 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| Barrels of halibut produced in the past year | 1 |
| Barrels of herring or alewives produced in the past year | 1,745 |
| Barrels of mackerel produced in the past year | 208 |
| Barrels of salmon produced in the past year | 17 |
| Barrels of shad produced in the past year | 2 |
| Fathoms of fishing nets | 5,406 |
| Gallons of fish oil produced in the past year | 592 |
| Number of fishing boats | 82 |
| Number of fishing vessels | 1 |
| Number of men on fishing boats | 119 |
| Number of men on fishing vessels | 7 |
| Number of shoremen | 2 |
| Quintals of cod produced in the past year | 2,195 |
| Quintals of fascines fish produced in the past year | 13 |
| Quintals of haddock, hake, or pollock produced in the past year | 98 |
Other recorded variables (35 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|
| BBL HERR OR ALE | 1,745 |
| BOAT MEN Q | 119 |
| BOATS FOR FISH | 82 |
| C UNMD F | 632 |
| C UNMD M | 774 |
| C UNMD TOT | 1,406 |
| CD NAME | Cape Breton |
| COD DX K | 2,195 |
| D OCC | 337 |
| FASCINE FISH Q | 13 |
| FEMALE | 1,012 |
| GAL FISH OIL | 592 |
| GRA BU | 2 |
| H CON | 6 |
| H INHAB | 337 |
| H UNINH | 30 |
| HAD DX K | 98 |
| HAL XB Q | 1 |
| MALE | 1,105 |
| MCK XB Q | 208 |
| MD F | 317 |
| MD M | 319 |
| MD TOT | 636 |
| NET XX F | 5,406 |
| NUMBER CD | 6 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 57 |
| SHD XB Q | 2 |
| SHOREMEN XX Q | 2 |
| SLM XB Q | 17 |
| TUR BU | 997 |
| VESSEL MEN Q | 7 |
| VESSEL XX Q | 1 |
| WID F | 63 |
| WID M | 12 |
| WID TOT | 75 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS006013 — year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file
- Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS028007 — 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). "Cow Bay, Nova Scotia (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph.
Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/cow-bay-ns006013-1881/.