About

The Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society is a non-profit provincially registered society (# 2429150) with federal charitable organization tax status (# 892899568RR0001). 
 

A Brief History of the Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society

The Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society was founded in 1995 by community members primarily from communities around the "Loop": Lake Charlotte, Ship Harbour, DeBaie’s Cove, Owls Head, Little Harbour, Clam Harbour and Clam Bay, as well as Upper Lakeville, Oyster Pond and East and West Jeddore.

The Society recognized a need for preserving the heritage of these communities, and its creation was spurred on by imminent loss of significant heritage buildings in the area, such as the Hosking General Store. Since its founding in 1995, the Heritage Society has broadened its mandate to serve the communities from the Eastern Halifax Regional Municipality, basically from Lawrencetown to Ecum Secum, following the coastline. We work with other heritage organizations along the Eastern Shore to preserve the social, economic and natural heritage of the area.

The Heritage Society is overseen by a volunteer board of directors, a year-round Executive Director, seasonal & project specific staff, and over 150 volunteers.
 

Our Mission

Our mission is to inspire an enduring appreciation for the heritage of the Eastern Shore in both residents and visitors.
 

Our Mandate

The Society shall fulfill its mission by:

1. Operating the best, financially self-sustaining, living-history museum in the Province of Nova Scotia by focusing on the authentic re-creation of a typical Eastern Shore coastal village for the time period of 1940 to 1950.
2. Operating the Eastern Shore Archive, an institutional archives dedicated to preserving and making publicly available records of archival significance from the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia between Lawrencetown and Ecum Secum.
3. Maximizing the assets of the Heritage Society (i.e. the Village buildings) in a creative way to increase Society revenues and community use
4. Offering support, guidance and a heritage centric voice to other Eastern Shore organizations involved in economic, social heritage and community development.
    

The Society's Strategic Vision & Values

The Society’s vision and values are articulated in the Society’s Strategic Plan, a documents revised every four years using a consultative process involving staff, volunteers, members and the general public. Click Here to view the most recent strategic plan outcomes.
 

The Society's Guiding Principles

The Society believes that our mission is best achieved by identifying and adhering to best practices in museology, heritage tourism and archival standards. In the area of museology we will use the guiding principles and practices of the Canadian Museums Association and the Association of Nova Scotia Museums. In the area of archives we will use the guiding principles and practices of the Council of Nova Scotia Archives. In the area of heritage tourism we will use the guiding principles and practices of the United States National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The National Trust believes that linking tourism and preservation can do more for local economies - and for tourism and preservation - than promoting them separately. The core idea of heritage tourism is: save your heritage, share it with visitors, and reap the economic benefits of tourism. This idea has been further elaborated on as five basic principles:

• Focus on authenticity and quality
• Preserve and protect heritage assets: tangible (artefacts & buildings) and intangible (traditions, stories)
• Make sites come alive by focusing on all the senses and having objects function as they once did
• Find fit between our community and tourism
• Collaborate, build partnerships
  
   

The 2023-2024 Board of Directors are:

Kristy Sanders - Chair
Darrell Boutilier - Vice Chair
Nancy Lobban - Treasurer
Linda Marks - Secretary
Alison Froese-Stoddard - Director
Tim Lambert - Director
Darlene Meade - Director
Mary-Jo Monk - Director
JoAnne Murray - Director
Michael Sanders - Director
Nancy Russell - Director
Shannon Taylor - Director
Aaron Zinck - Director

The Executive Director is Thea Wilson-Hammond.