Bayside

On the shores of Blind Bay at the head of Shag Harbour and just 20 km from Halifax is the community of Bayside, formerly known as Blind Bay. At times the fog rolling up from Shag Harbour is so thick, it blinds the fishermen and that is how the bay probably got its name. The Mi'kmaq camped on nearby Barkhouse Hill when they came to this area to fish.

Early settlers received land grants on Feb. 4, 1764. Early arrivals were Marlow, Barkhouse, Ernst, Zinck, Fader, Whiston, Longard, Courtney, Balcolm, and McGrath families.

The Catholic church records first mention Blind Bay in 1826 when Father Loughnan visited and tended to the religious needs of those living in the village.

It has been said that Gilbert Longard owned the first car in the community.

A descendant of the Fader family, Fendly Fader is credited with inventing bleach. He used a water wheel to power his machinery. In 1939, a newspaper in Halifax advertised his bleach, offering $5.00 to anyone who could come up with a name for the product. The winning entry named it "Sunny Monday." Monday, being the traditional laundry day when it was hoped the sun would shine to dry the wash.

Captain Noah Zinck owned a shipyard near the bay in the 1930s and one of his ships, a schooner named Oakleaf was constructed entirely of oak trees.

Until 1935 when it caught fire, the Bayside Hotel, a 3 storey hotel owned by Robert Courtney, was a thriving local business. Wind swept the flames through the village and wiped it out along with a lumber mill. Residents had to be evacuated by boat to Shoal Bay on the opposite shore.