Digby, Nova Scotia (1881 census)
Digby was a census subdivision in Digby County, Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 1,879. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q1224586. The administrative centroid was at approximately 44.629°N, 65.817°W.
Population
In 1881, Digby had a population of 1,879: 930 male and 949 female residents. Population density was 49.6 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1,951 |
| 1881 | 1,879 |
| 1891 | 1,381 |
| 1901 | 1,150 |
| 1911 | 1,247 |
| 1921 | 1,230 |
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.
Earlier boundary forms
- In an earlier year, this CSD was contained in Digby, 1871 (85.6% share).
Later boundary forms
- In a later year, this CSD contained Digby, 1891 (2.6% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Digby shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 92 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| FAM NO | 395 |
| Number of families | 395 |
| Number of females | 949 |
| Number of males | 930 |
| Number of married females | 318 |
| Number of married males | 320 |
| Number of married persons | 638 |
| Number of widowed females | 79 |
| Number of widowed males | 22 |
| Number of widowed persons | 101 |
| POP TOT | 1,879 |
| Total population | 1,879 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 552 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 588 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 1,140 |
Buildings & housing (4 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of houses under construction | 6 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 358 |
| Number of occupied houses | 358 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 29 |
Agriculture (28 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 1,197 |
| Acres of potatoes | 106 |
| Acres of wheat | 61 |
| BAR BU | 736 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 736 |
| Bushels of buckwheat produced in the past year | 1,180 |
| Bushels of corn produced in the past year | 32 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 1,191 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 2,662 |
| Bushels of peas and beans produced in the past year | 74 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 12,311 |
| Bushels of rye produced in the past year | 11 |
| Bushels of spring wheat produced in the past year | 1,463 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 5,684 |
| Bushels of winter wheat produced in the past year | 40 |
| BWT BU | 1,180 |
| CRN BU | 32 |
| HAY AC | 1,197 |
| HAY TONS | 1,234 |
| OAT BU | 1,191 |
| PEA AND BEN BU | 74 |
| POT AC | 106 |
| POT BU | 12,311 |
| RYE BU | 11 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 1,234 |
| WHT AC | 61 |
| WHT SP BU | 1,463 |
| WHT WTR BU | 40 |
Fisheries (13 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Barrels of halibut produced in the past year | 100 |
| Barrels of herring or alewives produced in the past year | 54 |
| Barrels of mackerel produced in the past year | 15 |
| Barrels of other fish produced in the past year | 150 |
| Fathoms of fishing nets | 760 |
| Gallons of fish oil produced in the past year | 1,190 |
| Number of fishing boats | 26 |
| Number of fishing vessels | 4 |
| Number of men on fishing boats | 38 |
| Number of men on fishing vessels | 23 |
| Number of shoremen | 2 |
| Quintals of cod produced in the past year | 445 |
| Quintals of haddock, hake, or pollock produced in the past year | 1,342 |
Other recorded variables (32 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BBL HERR OR ALE | 54 |
| BOAT MEN Q | 38 |
| BOATS FOR FISH | 26 |
| C UNMD F | 552 |
| C UNMD M | 588 |
| C UNMD TOT | 1,140 |
| CD NAME | Digby |
| COD DX K | 445 |
| D OCC | 358 |
| FEMALE | 949 |
| GAL FISH OIL | 1,190 |
| H CON | 6 |
| H INHAB | 358 |
| H UNINH | 29 |
| HAD DX K | 1,342 |
| HAL XB Q | 100 |
| MALE | 930 |
| MCK XB Q | 15 |
| MD F | 318 |
| MD M | 320 |
| MD TOT | 638 |
| NET XX F | 760 |
| NUMBER CD | 15 |
| OTHFISH XB Q | 150 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 2,662 |
| SHOREMEN XX Q | 2 |
| TUR BU | 5,684 |
| VESSEL MEN Q | 23 |
| VESSEL XX Q | 4 |
| WID F | 79 |
| WID M | 22 |
| WID TOT | 101 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS015003— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS009028— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q1224586
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby,_Nova_Scotia
- Wikipédia (FR): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_(Nouvelle-%C3%89cosse)
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). "Digby, Nova Scotia (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/digby-ns015003-1881/.