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History

Nova Scotia (New Scotland) (continued)

Pictou, Nova

The Philadelphia Company

Source
Cabin typical of those used by the first settlers who came to Pictou

A group of Americans, including Benjamin Franklin, formed a group called the Philadelphia Company. In 1762 the Company bought 200 000 acres of land on Nova Scotia's north shore, at a harbour called Pictou. In 1767, the Philadelphia Company sent six families to the settlement. They had come from Scotland and settled in the thirteen colonies for a time, before deciding to go to Pictou. These first settlers were joined by other Scots from the maritime colonies. By 1769, there were approximately 16 families, numbering around 80 people, in Pictou.