Merigonish, Nova Scotia (1871 census)
Merigonish was a census subdivision in Nova Scotia, recorded in the 1871 Census of Canada with a population of 1,740. The administrative centroid was at approximately 45.548°N, 62.411°W.
Population
In 1871, Merigonish had a population of 1,740: 856 male and 884 female residents. Population density was 26.1 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1,740 |
| 1881 | 898 |
| 1891 | 772 |
| 1901 | 693 |
| 1911 | 532 |
| 1921 | 461 |
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 NO DATA, 1861 (0.3% share).
Later boundary forms
- In a later year, this CSD contained Merigonish, 1881 (44.3% of this CSD's polygon).
- In a later year, this CSD contained French River, 1881 (55.7% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1871
In the 1871 census, Merigonish shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1871
The 1871 census recorded 56 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 5 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (10 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of families | 278 |
| Number of females | 884 |
| Number of males | 856 |
| Number of married females | 231 |
| Number of married males | 233 |
| Number of married persons | 464 |
| Number of widowed females | 46 |
| Number of widowed males | 21 |
| Number of widowed persons | 67 |
| Total population | 1,740 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 607 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 602 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 1,209 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 3 |
| Number of houses under construction | 2 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 274 |
| Number of occupied houses | 277 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 10 |
Agriculture (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BAR BU | 2,438 |
| BWT BU | 704 |
| CRN BU | 16 |
| HAY AC | 2,188 |
| HAY TONS | 1,904 |
| OAT BU | 28,758 |
| PEA BU | 378 |
| POT AC | 284 |
| POT BU | 21,022 |
| RYE BU | 4 |
| Total area (acres) | 38,250 |
| WHT SP BU | 6,036 |
Other recorded variables (26 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| ACRES | 623 |
| AREA | 38,250 |
| BEING BUILT | 2 |
| BEN BU | 23 |
| CD | 200 |
| CSD | 20 |
| FAMILIES | 278 |
| FEMALE | 884 |
| GRA BU | 117 |
| HOUSES OCCUPIED | 277 |
| INHABITED | 274 |
| MALE | 856 |
| MARRIED F | 231 |
| MARRIED M | 233 |
| MARRIED TOTAL | 464 |
| POPULATION | 1,740 |
| ROOT BU | 68 |
| SHANTIES | 3 |
| SINGLE F | 607 |
| SINGLE M | 602 |
| SINGLE TOTAL | 1,209 |
| TUR BU | 2,149 |
| UNINHABITED | 10 |
| WIDOWED F | 46 |
| WIDOWED M | 21 |
| WIDOWED TOTAL | 67 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NS200020— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NS016022— 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 1871 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). "Merigonish, Nova Scotia (1871 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/ns/merigonish-ns200020-1871/.