Editing Guysborough County, Nova Scotia (section)

==History==
The [[Mi'kmaq]] were the first inhabitants of the areas, having a seasonal settlement near [[Cook's Cove]], and are known to have frequented other sites like [[Canso, Nova Scotia|Canso]] and the [[St Mary's River, Nova Scotia|St Mary's River]]. The Mi'kmaq name for the region was Eskikewa'kik, meaning "skin dressing place". European fishermen and fur traders first visited the area in the 16th century, with the French establishing a colonial presence in the 17th century. The area came under the control of the British after [[Queen Anne's War]], and most of the Acadian population left in the 1760's. From 1720 to 1759, the British establishment at [[Canso, Nova Scotia|Canso]] was a highly contested strategic location for the colonial wars against France.

Present day Guysborough County was first part of Halifax County, established 1759.{{Sfn|Hart|2016|p=16}} Sydney County was divided from Halifax County in 1784, and comprised of present day [[Antigonish County|Antigonish]] and Guysborough Counties.{{Sfn|Hart|2016|p=55}} That same year, the community of [[Guysborough, Nova Scotia (community)|Guysborough]] was founded by [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]], named for [[Sir Guy Carleton]] By the mid 19th century, Guysborough County was organized into multiple townships: Guysborough, Manchester, Wilmot, Stormont, and St Mary's.{{Sfn|Hart|2016}}
[[File:Map of Antigonish and Guysborough Counties 1878.jpg|left|thumb|Map of Antigonish and Guysborough Counties from 1878.]]
Guysborough County was created when Sydney County was divided in 1836.{{Sfn|Hart|2016|p=73}} The new county took it's name from the Township of Guysborough, which became the county seat. What remained of Sydney County was renamed to Antigonish County in 1863.

Guysborough County has had a large Black population since 1784.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Loyalists of Guysborough County |url=http://guyscogene.net/places/blackloyalists.html |website=guyscogene.net |access-date=25 June 2022}}</ref> The [[Black Nova Scotian]] community in Guysborough is unique in that they descend almost entirely from [[Black Loyalists]]. In 1872, there were 918 residents of African ancestry in Guysborough.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rawlyk |first1=G. A. |title=The Guysborough Negroes: A Study in Isolation |date=1968 |url=https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/59205 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1840, Guysborough County was subdivided into two districts for court sessional purposes – [[Guysborough, Nova Scotia|Guysborough]] and [[St. Mary's, Nova Scotia|St. Mary's]]. In 1863, the boundary between [[Halifax County, Nova Scotia|Halifax County]] and Guysborough County was altered and a polling district was added to Guysborough County. In 1879, the two districts were incorporated as [[List of municipalities in Nova Scotia#District municipalities|district municipalities]]. In 1901, Canso was incorporated as a town with it's own municipal government, Mulgrave followed suit in 1923. Canso was dissolved as a town in 2012 and merged into the Municipality of the District of Guysborough.

The last [[racial segregation|racially segregated school]] in Canada closed in 1983 in Guysborough County.<ref>{{cite web |title=Racial Segregation of Black Students in Canadian Schools {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racial-segregation-of-black-students-in-canadian-schools |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref>