Stellarton is a town in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It sits adjacent to and south of the larger town of New Glasgow. The town has passed through several names over its history: in pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889 it was known as Albion Mines. In 1889, the town was formally incorporated under the name Stellarton.
The Origin of the Name
The name Stellarton has an unusual and specific origin. The town owes its name to a particular type of torbanite that was found in the area and came to be known as stellarite. This mineral earned its distinctive name because of the striking “stars of fire” produced by its sparky flame. That vivid characteristic of the local material shaped not only the identity of the resource itself, but ultimately the name of the town as a whole.
A History Rooted in Coal
The earlier names given to the community reflect just how central coal was to its development. The pioneer-era name Coal Mines Station pointed directly to the industry that defined the area, while the subsequent name Albion Mines, used from 1833 to 1889, continued to reference the extractive work taking place there. The shift to the name Stellarton at incorporation in 1889 marked a transition that drew on the local geology in a different way – honouring the distinctive flame of the stellarite rather than the mines themselves.
Location and Setting
Stellarton is located in Nova Scotia and shares its border with New Glasgow, which lies to the north and is the larger of the two communities. The town’s position within this part of the province places it in a region with a well-documented industrial and resource-based past, reflected in the various names it carried before incorporation.