Earltown is a small rural community nestled in the Cobequid Mountains of Colchester County, Nova Scotia, approximately 25 kilometres north of Truro. Today it is a quiet, peaceful place — but its history is one of remarkable courage, deep faith, and enduring community spirit.
For centuries before European settlement, the area served as a winter hunting and encampment site for the Mi'kmaq people, who knew its forests and waterways intimately. The land was included in the Philadelphia Company grant of 1765, but remained largely unsettled until the early 19th century.
In 1813, Angus Sutherland and Donald MacIntosh — natives of Rogart, Sutherland, Scotland, who had previously resided in Pictou County — became the first European settlers. They were soon joined by nearly 100 families from the Scottish parishes of Sutherland, Ross, and Caithness, many displaced by the devastating Highland Clearances.
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The men and women who settled Earltown arrived with little more than an axe, a Bible, and an unshakeable determination to build a new life. Forced from their ancestral lands in Scotland to make way for sheep farming, they carried their Gaelic language, Presbyterian faith, and Highland traditions across the Atlantic.
The settlement was initially called "New Portugal" — after several settlers who had served in the Peninsular War — before being renamed "Earltown" in honour of the Earl of Dalhousie and the Earl of Sutherland.
At its peak in the late 19th century, Earltown was a thriving Gaelic-speaking community of nearly 2,000 people, a regional hub for farming and forestry. The community placed extraordinary value on education and faith — a remarkable number of its sons became ministers and scholars.
Today, Earltown is a small rural community, but descendants of those original pioneer families — spread across Canada, the United States, Scotland, and beyond — continue to celebrate its unique identity.
Four burial grounds that together tell the complete story of Earltown's pioneer families
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📍 Highway 326, ~2 km north of Earltown Village
Located on Highway 326 approximately two kilometres north of Earltown Village, the Knox Presbyterian Cemetery is associated with the former Knox Presbyterian Church — the spiritual heart of the community. Many of the earliest settlers, who largely belonged to the Church of Scotland (and later the Free Church of Scotland following the Disruption of 1843), were buried "in the shadow of the church." Local historians have conducted guided heritage tours here, sharing the stories of the pioneering families whose names are etched on weathered headstones.
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📍 Berrichan Road, Earltown Village
Established around 1824 by John Sutherland to bury one of his children, the Earltown Village Cemetery on Berrichan Road became the largest burial ground in the district. Over the following two centuries, it grew to serve as the primary resting place for generations of settlers and their descendants. Its records represent one of the most comprehensive sources of genealogical information for Earltown families worldwide.
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📍 Church Road, northeast of Earltown Village
The MacKenzie Cemetery — known in Gaelic as "Cladh Mhic Connich" — is located off Church Road, northeast of the village. This site was donated around 1825 by William Baillie for the purpose of a church and graveyard. It holds particular significance as the burial place of many settlers who survived the Highland Clearances, their Scottish Gaelic names inscribed on headstones that stand as testament to their resilience and faith.
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📍 Squire MacKay Road, eastern Earltown
Established before 1826 to serve the eastern fringe of the Earltown settlement, the Gunn Cemetery on Squire MacKay Road is one of the more remote historic sites. It has long been referred to as the "Pensioner's Cemetery" because it is believed to be the final resting place of several military veterans (pensioners) who settled in Earltown after service in the Napoleonic Wars. Its isolated location has made ongoing maintenance a particular priority for our organization.
Key milestones in the history of Earltown and its cemeteries
The Earltown area is included in the Philadelphia Company land grant, opening the region to future settlement.
Angus Sutherland and Donald MacIntosh from Rogart, Sutherland, Scotland, become the first European settlers of Earltown.
Nearly 100 families from Sutherland, Ross, and Caithness, displaced by the Highland Clearances, settle in Earltown.
John Sutherland establishes the Earltown Village Cemetery on Berrichan Road — the largest burial ground in the district.
William Baillie donates land on Church Road for the MacKenzie Cemetery (Cladh Mhic Connich).
The Gunn Cemetery on Squire MacKay Road is established to serve the eastern settler families.
Earltown thrives as a Gaelic-speaking Presbyterian community of nearly 2,000 — a regional hub for farming and forestry.
The Disruption of the Church of Scotland affects the Earltown congregation; some families join the Free Church movement.
The Earltown Church Cemetery Company is formally incorporated as a nonprofit to ensure the perpetual care of the historic burial grounds.
Headstone restoration, record digitization, and volunteer stewardship continue under the Company's care.
Our burial records and genealogy archive can help you connect with your Scottish-Nova Scotian roots.
Search Burial Records