Melford, Nova Scotia (1891 census)
Melford was a census subdivision in Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1891 Census of Canada with a population of 1,497. The administrative centroid was at approximately 45.539°N, 61.372°W.
Population
In 1891, Melford had a population of 1,497: 775 male and 722 female residents. Population density was 17.8 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1,765 |
| 1881 | 1,700 |
| 1891 | 416 |
| 1891 | 1,497 |
| 1901 | 354 |
| 1901 | 632 |
| 1911 | 533 |
| 1911 | 342 |
| 1921 | 293 |
| 1921 | 520 |
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 Mulgrave, 1901 (36.0% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained Melford, 1901 (64.0% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1891
In the 1891 census, Melford shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1891
The 1891 census recorded 153 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 6 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (15 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Average size of families | 5.50 |
| FAM NO | 271 |
| Number of families | 271 |
| Number of females | 722 |
| Number of males | 775 |
| Number of married females | 209 |
| Number of married males | 209 |
| Number of married persons | 418 |
| Number of widowed females | 65 |
| Number of widowed males | 27 |
| Number of widowed persons | 92 |
| POP F | 722 |
| POP M | 775 |
| POP TOT | 1,497 |
| Total population | 1,497 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 448 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 539 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 987 |
Ethnic origin (1 variable)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of persons who are not French Canadian | 1,497 |
Buildings & housing (16 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are vessels and shanties | 2 |
| Number of houses | 268 |
| Number of houses built of wood | 268 |
| Number of houses of 1 story | 250 |
| Number of houses of 11 to 15 rooms | 13 |
| Number of houses of 2 rooms | 11 |
| Number of houses of 2 stories | 16 |
| Number of houses of 3 rooms | 39 |
| Number of houses of 3 stories | 2 |
| Number of houses of 4 rooms | 42 |
| Number of houses of 5 rooms | 55 |
| Number of houses of 6 to 10 rooms | 104 |
| Number of houses of over 15 rooms | 4 |
| Number of houses under construction | 10 |
| Number of occupied houses | 270 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 19 |
Agriculture (52 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Acres of farmland in gardens or orchards | 4 |
| Acres of farmland in pasture | 964 |
| Acres of farmland in woodland or forest | 26,029 |
| Acres of farmland under crops | 1,957 |
| Acres of hay crops | 1,074 |
| Acres of improved land in farms | 2,925 |
| Acres of land in farms | 28,954 |
| Acres of oats | 36 |
| Acres of potatoes | 95 |
| Acres of turnips | 4 |
| BAR BU | 8 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 8 |
| Bushels of beans produced in the past year | 53 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 1,047 |
| Bushels of peas produced in the past year | 15 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 9,626 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 568 |
| HAY AC | 1,074 |
| HAY TONS | 1,432 |
| Number of cattle killed or sold in the past year | 228 |
| Number of chickens | 2,050 |
| Number of ducks | 8 |
| Number of farm occupants who own their land | 237 |
| Number of farm occupants who rent their land | 5 |
| Number of geese | 193 |
| Number of horses aged 3 years and under | 17 |
| Number of horses aged over 3 years | 103 |
| Number of milk cows | 361 |
| Number of occupants of farms | 242 |
| Number of other cattle | 356 |
| Number of other fowl | 89 |
| Number of oxen | 149 |
| Number of persons living on farms between 101 and 200 acres | 61 |
| Number of persons living on farms between 11 and 50 acres | 55 |
| Number of persons living on farms between 51 and 100 acres | 59 |
| Number of persons living on farms over 200 acres | 21 |
| Number of persons living on farms under 10 acres | 46 |
| Number of sheep | 1,209 |
| Number of sheep slaughtered or sold | 694 |
| Number of swine | 67 |
| Number of swine slaughtered or sold | 114 |
| Number of turkeys | 17 |
| OAT AC | 36 |
| OAT BU | 1,047 |
| PEA BU | 15 |
| POT AC | 95 |
| POT BU | 9,626 |
| Pounds of cheese produced on farms in the past year | 290 |
| Pounds of coarse wool produced on farms in the past year | 1,647 |
| Pounds of fine wool produced on farms in the past year | 2,362 |
| Pounds of homemade butter | 20,495 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 1,432 |
Other recorded variables (66 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| A 101 200 | 61 |
| A 11 50 | 55 |
| A 201 PL | 21 |
| A 51 100 | 59 |
| BEN BU | 53 |
| BUTTER LB | 20,495 |
| CATTLE KS | 228 |
| CHEESE LB | 290 |
| CHILD AND UNMD FEM | 448 |
| CHILD AND UNMD MALE | 539 |
| CHILD AND UNMD TOT | 987 |
| COARSE WOOL LB | 1,647 |
| COLTS FILLIES | 17 |
| DUCKS | 8 |
| FAMILIES | 271 |
| FAMILIES AV SIZE | 5.50 |
| FINE WOOL LB | 2,362 |
| FRN CA | 0 |
| GEESE | 193 |
| HENS AND CHKN | 2,050 |
| HORSES OVR THREE | 103 |
| HOUSES | 268 |
| HOUSES CON | 10 |
| HOUSES ELVN TO FIFTN RM | 13 |
| HOUSES FIVE RM | 55 |
| HOUSES FOUR RM | 42 |
| HOUSES ONE STRY | 250 |
| HOUSES SIX TO TEN RM | 104 |
| HOUSES SIXTN OVR RM | 4 |
| HOUSES THREE RM | 39 |
| HOUSES THREE STRY | 2 |
| HOUSES TWO RM | 11 |
| HOUSES TWO STRY | 16 |
| HOUSES UNINH | 19 |
| HOUSES W | 268 |
| INF 11 A | 46 |
| MD FEM | 209 |
| MD MALE | 209 |
| MD TOT | 418 |
| MILK COWS | 361 |
| NAME CD | Guysborough |
| OC F | 5 |
| OC P | 237 |
| OC TOT | 242 |
| OTHER FOWL | 89 |
| OTHER HRN CATTLE | 356 |
| OTHERS | 1,497 |
| SHEEP | 1,209 |
| SHEEP KS | 694 |
| SUP AM | 2,925 |
| SUP FOR | 26,029 |
| SUP JV | 4 |
| SUP PAT | 964 |
| SUP SC | 1,957 |
| SUP TOT | 28,954 |
| SWINE | 67 |
| SWINE KS | 114 |
| TOT DWLG OCC | 270 |
| TUR AC | 4 |
| TUR BU | 568 |
| TURKEY | 17 |
| VESS AND SHAN | 2 |
| WID FEM | 65 |
| WID MALE | 27 |
| WID TOT | 92 |
| WORKING OX | 149 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS032015— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS010022_1871— 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 1891 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). "Melford, Nova Scotia (1891 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/melford-ns032015-1891/.