Uncovering the Lost Town of Shulie, Nova Scotia: Nothing Left but Memories 

"That's not him, that's his dog" Never stop Tom.

The guy sailing his entire house and livelihood along the coast to a nicer spot is hilarious, he's a true Nova Scotian lmao

When a wild goose chase turns up ANYTHING even a nail, to me, that’s SOOOOOO exciting. When I was a child my mom used to take me exploring abandoned houses. That still excites me at almost 68!!!

It’s hard to put to words the feeling I get hearing of people who lived and loved and existed in a town that sadly can just fade away into time. Life is so vast, we can live our lives and will still be forgotten by time.

It is both amazing and somewhat sad to realize how many lost fishing/logging communities there are around Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec. I can't help but think of all the hours of work and danger they went through to raise a community out of the wilderness. And how little remains to commemorate their struggles. It isn't often I get to hear stories about the history of the areas I grew up, so I really appreciate it. There is a rich history in Nova Scotia, but it can be startling how little we are taught of it.

As an Acadian Ocean Liner and history enthusiast this means so much to me. Thanks for exploring more of Atlantic Canada’s history.

As a Nova Scotian I really appreciate your channel. Thank for you telling our history ❤

I like poking around old former town locations such as you did at Shulie. It never ceases to amaze me when walking through dense forest and rugged terrain that it was even possible that anyone erected buildings on the land. Yet in old photographs it would look level and fairly groomed. There are thousands of locations just like this. Thank heavens that historians chronicle these tales for people to learn, enjoy, and pass along to future generations.

I know you said in a previous video that your ghost town videos don't have as many views as your ship videos but I very much do enjoy and appreciate them made me appreciate the smaller quiet towns in the United States and gets me interested to visiting them

That was beyond repulsive that those wooden crosses were kicked over. Those were placed there by people who loved them. Desecrating a grave is absolutely vile. Nova Scotia is my very favourite place in the world, what a shameful thing to see there! You really packed alot of information in this video, well 👏🏻done young man, thank you for sharing this!👍🏻😄🐾🌈☮️🇨🇦(Ottawa)

I’m from PEI but have many roots in Nova Scotia, thank you for sharing our history which is so often forgotten, and thanks to your wife’s grandfather for keeping history alive

What a beautiful memory for you, your grandfather-in-law, and your father-in-law! This will be something you can show your son when he's older and share the generational love of exploration and adventure!

Please consider a segment on the "lost town" of Valsetz, Oregon, at one time a thriving community with a high school, many businesses, and high employment, until limited access to timber and the environmental consciousness forced its demise within a generation: abandoned, bulldozed and razed. It was not a logging camp, it was a town with hundreds of people.

Tom, this was such a fun video. Your personal attachment to the area and people was very special and there were many many parts where my husband and I were either surprised or amazed. Great video

I like the way you merge the old photo’s into the new landscape, helps to get a feel for it

Good job. Another Nova scotia 'ghost town' if you haven't done it already is The Electric City otherwise known as New France, Nova Scotia just outside of Weymouth.

Wonderful story, Tom. Good to see your Emma's grandfather, too. History lives on. Thank you for presenting this story.

I'm a born & bred bluenoser, and I'll admit I hadn't heard of this before. Thank you!

3:11 Fascinating to hear Fred speak, when he says "My names Fred Priest..." and he sounds as though he has light, perhaps Devon or maybe Somerset accent. it's only when comes to the end of the sentence, "he ran a black smith shop there." Does his accent sound North American. Listening to Fred speak it's amazing. Obviously I appreciate Fred may have moved about throughout his life, but if he was raised in the area and didn't move from the area until he was an adult, then it seems as though a lot of his ancestors accent has stayed with him and the those in that area. Also more broadly an excellent piece of work and a perfect tonic for less than reasonable Tuesday.

My 5x great grandfather founded Oxford in Cumberland County in the 1700’s. As a Scotian, i appreciate the History. Subscribed 🤙

Interesting story. My father, Elmer L Brown (b 1902) lived in Shulie (he spelled it Shulee) from 1906-1917 and wrote his memoirs of Shulee and surrounding area Joggins, Sand River, Apple River, Flat Brook, Two Rivers, River Hebert, Chignecto, etc and the families living in Shulee when he was a boy.

I was just up in that area camping just last week, passed right over the Shulie bridge a few times. You can feel the history up there driving thru small towns where the main businesses are antique shops and craft stores. Come on up the Valley way, I'll help ya go find Aalders Landing out in the woods. This town had a bowling alley, churches, and was apparently the end of a railway from another ghost town further south. No roads, no trails, but its out there.

In Shediac New-Brunswick there is an island called Shediac Island and there was once a small town on this small island but now there is only ancient roads and foundation’s on the island. and there is a couple houses in shediac that were once on the island that got transported across the bay during the winter. Shediac is a beautiful place with a lot of maritime history so if you are ever in New-Brunswick make sure to visit Shediac Island!

I'm a life-long resident of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, and I've learned something new today. Nice work.

Hello from North of Sweden, and old logging county of Västernorrland. Nice video. Most hardware lost from this era but the storys are still around. Story from my childhood: We keept loggin the old way by-water in to modern age here. So interesting timber canals was built to get around the waterpowerplants. When they shut down the timber-by-water method, the canals were used as a means to travel, by walking, skateboards or riding bikes between villages for a time. These canals mostly built in wood roted away ofc and was torn down in the end. Missed by a lot of the locals.

This was interesting. I lived in the Maritimes for four years while attending Mount Allison University at the top of the Bay of Fundy. Joggins was a regular destination while studying geology my first year there. It is a famous geological and dino fossil site now. I have travelled that highway down the Cumberland straight to the south of Nova Scotia stopping and visiting many abandoned grave sites on the way. So much history in old grave sites.

Often times the wooden crosses were pulled and tossed, stacked or piled in various places as a more permanent marker was placed... Even today, it takes sometimes months or years to erect a permanent marker ... In this case, the steep hillside was a perfect place to dispose of wooden markers... Highly unlikely it was vandalism

Being from rural Nova Scotia, this unlocked a childhood memory of exploring the different woods/shores and finding different things/hearing similar stories. Thanks for that!

I have a town in Kentucky called Kyrock. The original town has disappeared and there's no way to get to the original site but I would love to hear what you could find out about it and do a episode about it. Thank you.

This was awesome! I wonder how many such tiny communities have vanished in our country. One of my sons' friend's Eagle Project was rehabilitating an old pioneer cemetery West of our town. It is now ranch land and forest, but it was once a small, tight-knit community of which none of us had ever heard. I don't think it was even mentioned in the county museum. I will never forget one row of tiny headstones marking the graves of a series of small children from one family. I just can't even imagine.

2 years ago on the way to Joggins I stopped on that bridge and took some pictures of the river, not realizing that so much history was around me. Thanks for putting this together.

Thanks for the video Tom! This should be sent to CBC or something, your work is honestly top knotch :)

Oh my goodness, that grave of Greer children it’s the saddest thing. Their poor parents 😳😭 It was very moving to see how upset you were that the crosses had been thrown off the top of the cliff- you’re a very good and kind person, with a deep respect for others. And your family is adorable!

If you're ever in California Tom, you should visit the "town" of Drawbridge, it's got quite an interesting history.

Was surprised to see this video…..just happened across it in a random fashion. My maternal grandfather, Frank C Robinson of Moncton, New Brunswick was involved in the Shulie sawmill/logging enterprise…..how exactly, I don’t know…..may have been one of the owners or managers. Only remember my mother mentioning this place various times but because I was young, never paid much attention. Own a wonderful old colourized photo of Shulie depicting some logs, wharf, river and ship. It is hanging on my wall. Thanks for the interesting video!

I'm from the UK, but like all things history. Great story. Well presented. Much appreciated.

Ghost towns and settlements in humid climates tend to just "melt" into the ground, whereas there are more visible remains in dry places, such as the N. American/Canadian West. It's great to see another story of Canada's past. Thank you. I just started watching your channel and I'm really enjoying it. Loved that you pointed out that "...that's his dog, not him..." LOL.

I really enjoyed this. I live in Ontario, but born and bred in New Brunswick, a true maritimer at heart.

I just love history like this! As a part of Canadian history it shoud never be forgotten. Well done!

Your a Wonderful Storyteller Friend ⚘️ and "That's Not Him, That's His Dog " Made Me LOL 😁

It's so humbling to learn about the lives of people who did the pioneering work establishing little towns & built businesses & grew up families while we tend to take for granted that every town started this way, it's just sad that some never quite made it for long ! Thank you, this video just appeared in my list - very interesting !

Hey if you need more ideas for vanished towns, try Dana and a few other towns in Massachusetts that were flooded to make the quabbin reservoir

I love and respect how you give the gone and (almost) forgotten their voice and dignity back. Thank you for sharing this. We need to see and understand this history before it is lost.

Fascinating ! I live abiut 100 km from Shulie. My grandfather who had roots in Port Elgin New Brunswick spoke of this and many other lumber mills. His family had a large cabinet making business in Moncton NB. Thank you for such a great video.

Makes me sad that my own forgotten town near where I live is under a lake. It was abandoned way before the lake was made, but still it can only be walked during times of drought when the Petersburg Ga rises out of the water.

There is a ghost town that can be accessed by the Cass Scenic Railroad, it was called Spruce but once the logging dried up there was nothing really left except ruins

Tom, Your videos are long,.. But they never seem long enough!👍

That was a very pleasant half hour,and I needed it!Thank you.

Forgotten graves make me so very sad. In the middle of my city, there is a tiny family cemetery from the mid-1800’s. It butts up to the unused side of a retail store and an unused parking lot driveway. (Actually, I should say the store & parking lot butt up to the cemetery, since it was there first!) I’m estimating the cemetery to be approximately 20’ x 40’. At some point, a small 3’ brick wall was built around it, with an opening to allow visitors. I’m guessing it was built when the retail store was, as the brickwork seems to match. When I first discovered the area as a teenager, the store was a Piggly Wiggly. The city put up a “historic places” placard at the opening of the brick wall. But very few people (with good intentions) know it even exists. Unfortunately, that little hidden area has become a magnet for undesirable behaviors. The tombstones are mostly gone, and the couple that are left have been smashed by vandals. The area is often filled with trash and evidence of drug use. It’s a secluded, dark place to hide. I couldn’t imagine my family’s graves being so disrespected. It makes me very sad for the people who are buried there. I wish the city or the current owners of the cemetery would clean it up and close it off. Replacing the gravestones would be amazing, but probably too much to hope for. They could at least put a garbage can in that area. (And hope it gets used.) I go by there on occasion, and it looks worse every time. Perhaps if I grow a pair, I can raise the issue with the city council, although, I doubt they’d care. When I first found it over 30 years ago, there were still some intact headstones. I’m tempted to go to the library to research the history of the area, family, and find the current owners. If you’re a believer in a higher power, say a little prayer for this family. If you’re not a believer, simply wish the area well. No one deserves their final resting place to be treated like this. And I know it’s far from being the only one.

Your Nova Scotia videos always remind me of many happy childhood hours spent wandering the rocky shore and marshes and barrens of the rural South Shore with my Nana, looking for sea glass and artefacts, while she told me endless stories of houses that no longer stood and people that no longer lived there, in the dwindling fishing community where both sides of her family made a living some 300 years. In a place like Nova Scotia there's a wealth of stories hidden beneath what at first glance might look like pastures and mud and stands of trees seemingly untouched by anybody. I really enjoy listening to you respectfully, curiously dig them up like so much beach glass and bring some fragment of what once was back into the light.

Imagine going out to the middle of nowhere building a couple houses with your buds and cutting down trees and selling them. Good luck trying that today. Wish it was that easy now.

Fascinating! You really are very good at these documentaries. You are polished but personable and it's clear you do a ton of research and prep work. Thank you for sharing your interests with us. 🙂

3:23 I can't get enough of these old photos overlayed on new ones. I wish more people would copy you :)

The large piece of iron at the shore line possibly could be the bottom bearing for a jib boom crane mounted on the wharf for loading ship's cargo.

Another beautiful video, Tom, and another reason why this is one of my favorite channels on RU-vid. Thank you for telling their story!

My first thought on that mystery metal piece was a tuyere or possibly a flange from a boiler, but after noticing the length of those loose bolts I'm inclined to think it was probably the hub of a wooden water wheel that has since rotted away.

I'm glad you mentioned the gravestones being pitched over the cliff. Guaranteed you heard the story about that while you were home.

As a Nova Scotian it’s wonderful that you are showing some of the province’s history. It’s sad that so much of it has been lost.

Wow- excellent job. I feel like I’ve been there and walked in their footsteps! Thank you!

My guess is a flange hub for a water wheel..I would think a metal detector would help find the blacksmith shop.

Joggins is a really cool spot! One of the fossil capitals of the world. I used to go there with my dad when I was younger and you could literally walk down the beach kicking rocks over uncovering fossils. Mainly just trees and leaves and other vegetation, but you could come across some trilobites (I think, can’t remember what they’re called anymore so many years later). Couldn’t take anything, but it was really cool to see. If you found anything particularly unique you could take it to the museum though. I highly recommend a visit.

I love the videos with heavy content about the people, and having Emma's grandfather share with us, made it truly amazing! I was hoping those crosses were not just tossed as they were, those type of burial grounds are sacred. We have found a few in the forest north of where I reside in Saskatchewan, we give them the respect they deserve.

I live in Cumberland and have been through Shulie a couple times, but I didn’t know most of the stuff you had in this video. It was really neat to watch! There’s also two other ghost towns in the area as well near advocate, Eatonville and New Yarmouth. Both are now mostly within Caep Chignecto park. Probably have similar stories to Shulie I imagine

3:24 seeing transitions of current land vs the way land used to look by photographs always always just completely blows my mind

This was interesting and sad, as all lost things are sad: pictures, pets, people, grave markers, towns, but something survived, memories and stories from the old folk, sometimes old archives that some people were wise enough to save and preserve. Thanks to people like you who go off the paved paths and listen and read and share what you find with us, lovers of the lost and sad. Never heard of Shulie, river/creek or town, but now I will remember it, too. That river/creek and the forests are beautiful. I wish that I could live there. (As long as I had electricity and indoor plumbing.) I forget the name of the town still there, with houses still and I guess, shops. Saw a church also. I think it was Joggins, but whatever. How do the people there survive? I mean, how do they earn their livelihood? You didn’t mention any industry and it doesn’t seem to have enough people to work at a large place. Just wondering about the living, so far from me, as well as the dead and the gone. Thanks again. ❤

I only recently subscribed to this channel after watching a documentary of the SS Atlantic not realising the Canadian orientation of its content. I'll cut to the chase, I was born in Halifax N.S. in 1958 to a French Canadian from Montréal and British mother from Portsmouth. I left Canada in 1961to return to the UK with my mother. I have never returned to Canada and honestly never felt the impulse to do so. The content I've already watched since subscribing has, for the first time in my life given me the emotional motivation to return and see the countryside and place on the planet that concern me.

I was born in Cumberland County In Amherst. I had never heard of this Thank You for letting me learn about this community.

This was a great video! One thing that struck me was the color of the water being the same as in Homer's writings; the "wine dark water". I have to wonder if that's because of the minerals in the ground around there or the type of algae that grows in the water. Thank you for keeping the memories of this town alive!

My great, great, great grandpa was a fisherman and sailed the Funbay. He went out one day on a fishing trip and a storm hit and the ship never came back. They guess hes ship went down. My family on my fathers side is from France and sailed to Nova scotia.❤

At the beginning, it is mentioned the humidity is very high in Nova Scotia. That is a bit of an understatement.

Hello Tom. The Electric Light is listed as a Barquentine, tonnage of 249. The builder/owner was a person named Chapman, first name unknown. Built in Shulie in 1879. From the book, Sails of Fundy, by Stanley T. Spicer, of Spencer's Island. Published 1984. Hope that helps a bit.

I find it so haunting that in the wilderness, there was a thriving town. Videos like this keep those peoples memories alive. Thank you for the great videos you make.

I love that you compile all this information about these otherwise forgotten towns for everyone to learn about. It keeps their memory alive in a way.

May I suggest you visit Westville, Pictou Co. and discover what it was like in it's heyday back when it had three coal mines. One of which, the Black diamond Mine supposedly left a locomotive and coal cars within the mine. I am 68 and heard that story when I was around 12 in the 60s, when the last underground mine switched to deisel to haul coal cars to the siding not far from where I grew up.

Sadly there are not near enough stories of our countries history available to us, not even in our schools, which is simply shameful. Thanks to you and probably just a handful of like individuals, producing videos like these, we do indeed have a history worth remembering, and a distinctive one at that. I can't thank you enough for bringing stories like this to life. But I guess a sub is a good way to start.

I grew up in Springhill, a famous coal mining town with tons of tragedy and home of Anne Murray, I turn 40 this year and I never knew this place existed. I knew about Mitten though. My family lived in the Athol Woods just past Springhill not that far from where this community would of been. Love history but had no idea about this place, thank you. The power of the algorithm brought this to me for some reason. Cumberland county is a beautiful place, but Moncton and Halifax have made it a dead place with modern transportation needing no reason to stop on the peninsula anymore.

wonderful project bringing life back to this vanished community

Man I was about to go to bed why you gotta do this to me 😂, Cant wait to watch!

Thank you for sharing. My ancestors came to Nova Scotia in the 1700s and there are many of the family, including myself who settled here. It’s very interesting to go back in time and you’ve done it so well. Thanks again, 👍

Love love love this presentation‼️. I also love anything about Nova Scotia and you did a beautiful narration young man. Thank you for making my day so enjoyable and I look forward to more of your wonderful work. ❣️‼️

Thank you. What an awesome video. Very well done. My Dad is Fred's first cousin, so I recognize and am related to many of the ancestors you mentioned. What a lovely way to remember them. So many of the stories we hear over the years will be forgotten. Again, thank you.

Thank you for your attention to investigating the graveyards and grave sites, being all that remains of their town. It's interesting and disappointing the casual disregard for some of the markers, and how almost no official record of the site has survived to this day. Even though some graves appear to have been desecrated, removed or left unmarked, it seems you have found evidence that at least some were relocated and re-interred properly at another site. What a challenge we face in our efforts to interpret the past without strong evidence, thank you again for your efforts here.

As a French Canadian, the term sous lis, yes can mean under read, but the context is missing. It most likely means sous lis, under the lily as in the fleur de lis, Symbol of French Crown. Meaning they are under French rule, not English rule. At the time the distinction was important because of tension and wars between French and English.

You should do a video about the old stone house/building up off the side of the 103, out past Tantallon.

Actual its really nice these ghost toen stories, it gives peace somehow, also nice you got your father in law involved

“I’m out here exploring with my father-in-law, Mark…….that’s not him, that’s his dog” made me laugh more than it should’ve 😂😂 I swear your humor is totally my style 😂 I get to learn some history AND giggle every now and then. Thanks for the awesome content! I’m grateful for your father-in-law and to have heard his family’s amazing story! ❤

I am so glad I stumbled upon your channel. Awesome stories from out past

I'm from Cumberland County. Thanks for this!

Born and raised in nova scotia and this is the first I had heard of this community

"Everything comes and goes, marked by lovers, and styles of clothes. Thinks that you held high, and told yourself were true lost or changing, as the days come down to you." --Joni Mitchell Captivating, thank you very much as always.

Whelp, as a Scotianer, after seeing this I had to sub. Super interesting. Down where I grew up, there used to be all sorts of back road weirdly hidden rock houses, and I had always wondered what the backstory/history was.

There are so many abandoned towns in Nova Scotia. Londonderry in Colchester County is probably the saddest: iron ore mine and steel mill made the town, but when the ore was depleted almost everyone left

Joggins girl here . The old liquor store is now a restaurant that was painted a coral color which you can see in your video. And the house that sailed across the ocean sits on the other side of the blue color house so you can't see it in your video unfortunately it is now a bed and breakfast I do believe 😊

Fantastic video! And the family connection is such a beautiful layer to the story really bringing the whole thing ‘home’.

I think it's great binging these places and people back to Life .Makes me think of my Parents and Grandparents and handful of Stories that remain.Tuned in from Ontario. 🇨🇦

Thank you for all your digging to produce this video. I enjoyed it very much and brings back a lot of memories.

I live in Cumberland County. I had no idea the Mary Celeste was made here. Thats quite the revelation, THANK YOU.

Very Nice Tribute to the people of this beautiful Canadian Town and History. I really enjoyed this video.

I absolutely loved this! Thanks so much, and please keep up the wonderful work. Cheers!

Really enjoyed this and the area looks amazing. Thank-you. Love living in Nova Scotia.