Main-à-Dieu, Nova Scotia (1881 census)
Main-à-Dieu was a census subdivision in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 990. The administrative centroid was at approximately 45.985°N, 59.846°W.
Population
In 1881, Main-à-Dieu had a population of 990: 517 male and 473 female residents. Population density was 31.3 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1881 | 990 |
| 1891 | 1,001 |
| 1901 | 757 |
| 1911 | 521 |
| 1921 | 489 |
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 Mainadieu, 1871 (52.2% share).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Main-à-Dieu shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 78 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| FAM NO | 158 |
| Number of families | 158 |
| Number of females | 473 |
| Number of males | 517 |
| Number of married females | 139 |
| Number of married males | 137 |
| Number of married persons | 276 |
| Number of widowed females | 25 |
| Number of widowed males | 8 |
| Number of widowed persons | 33 |
| POP TOT | 990 |
| Total population | 990 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 309 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 372 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 681 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 1 |
| Number of houses under construction | 10 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 154 |
| Number of occupied houses | 155 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 14 |
Agriculture (14 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 568 |
| Acres of potatoes | 44 |
| BAR BU | 8 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 8 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 291 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 4 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 3,560 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 257 |
| HAY AC | 568 |
| HAY TONS | 344 |
| OAT BU | 291 |
| POT AC | 44 |
| POT BU | 3,560 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 344 |
Fisheries (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Barrels of gaspareaux produced in the past year | 1 |
| Barrels of halibut produced in the past year | 12 |
| Barrels of herring or alewives produced in the past year | 2,847 |
| Barrels of mackerel produced in the past year | 1,956 |
| Barrels of other fish produced in the past year | 1 |
| Barrels of salmon produced in the past year | 21 |
| Fathoms of fishing nets | 14,480 |
| Gallons of fish oil produced in the past year | 2,033 |
| Number of fishing boats | 146 |
| Number of men on fishing boats | 281 |
| Quintals of cod produced in the past year | 7,760 |
| Quintals of haddock, hake, or pollock produced in the past year | 873 |
Other recorded variables (32 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BBL HERR OR ALE | 2,847 |
| BOAT MEN Q | 281 |
| BOATS FOR FISH | 146 |
| C UNMD F | 309 |
| C UNMD M | 372 |
| C UNMD TOT | 681 |
| CD NAME | Cape Breton |
| COD DX K | 7,760 |
| D OCC | 155 |
| FEMALE | 473 |
| GAL FISH OIL | 2,033 |
| GSP XB Q | 1 |
| H CON | 10 |
| H INHAB | 154 |
| H UNINH | 14 |
| HAD DX K | 873 |
| HAL XB Q | 12 |
| MALE | 517 |
| MCK XB Q | 1,956 |
| MD F | 139 |
| MD M | 137 |
| MD TOT | 276 |
| NET XX F | 14,480 |
| NUMBER CD | 6 |
| OTHFISH XB Q | 1 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 4 |
| SHAN | 1 |
| SLM XB Q | 21 |
| TUR BU | 257 |
| WID F | 25 |
| WID M | 8 |
| WID TOT | 33 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS006010— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS006023— 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). "Main-à-Dieu, Nova Scotia (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/main-dieu-ns006010-1881/.