Lawrencetown

Dykes were built in the Lawrencetown salt marshes to reclaim farmland. The dyked land had to sit unused for two years before it could be farmed. This allowed the snow and the rain to wash the salt out of the soil. The fertile mud dried into excellent farming soil. The water in the marshland behind the dyke drained through the earth wall at an opening called an aboiteaux. The seawater could not get in, but the fresh water that accumulated during the day could flow out at low tide. The West Lawrencetown dyke, was located on Conrad Road at the bottom of the big hill as you turn right toward the beach. You can still see the remaining rocks from the dyke wall. The entire marshland in front of Atlantic View School was once dyked, drained, and farmed.

Rum Running was a way of life in the Lawrencetown area. Large kegs of black rum were unloaded from the mother ships off of the beach area. Sometimes they were buried in the sand until night. The rum runners would dig them up to take them away. Moonshine distilleries were also common in the Lawrencetown area.

 In 1976, the N.S. Government established the Beach Protection Act to protect the beach and the wetlands for generations to come. They built the beach house and the boardwalks to protect the dunes and the make the beach more accessible.