Blue Island, Nova Scotia
In the 1970s, New York-based actress Anne Priest fell in love with Nova Scotia and purchased a mainland property on the Atlantic Ocean as well as Blue Island just off the coast. The stunning landscape prompted a shift in focus from city lights to sheep farming, and she moved her flock from New York to Nova Scotia each summer, herding some on the island and others in the mainland pasture at her house, where she could view the sheep and island f ...
In the 1970s, New York-based actress Anne Priest fell in love with Nova Scotia and purchased a mainland property on the Atlantic Ocean as well as Blue Island just off the coast. The stunning landscape prompted a shift in focus from city lights to sheep farming, and she moved her flock from New York to Nova Scotia each summer, herding some on the island and others in the mainland pasture at her house, where she could view the sheep and island from her kitchen windows. Before she passed away, she wrote a lovely memoir about her experiences, Trafficking in Sheep.
Now this magical property is on the market, awaiting a new owner to delight and inspire. Blue Island is 136 undeveloped acres with fresh water springs and approximately 2.25 miles of shoreline containing dramatic natural features named long ago by area fishermen. At the Porpoise Hole, the tides and waves sometimes cause water to shoot 20 feet above the island’s eastern cliffs with an explosive whoosh akin to air forced through a blowhole. Nearby Hell Hole—a giant fissure in the cliffs that compresses entering waves—emits a rattling racket as water churns across its stony bottom. Blackbeard’s Cove is a tranquil natural harbor created from grassy headlands and vertical stretches of rock. Local legend says that the pirate Blackbeard hid his treasure on Blue Island, although no trace has been discovered.
The mainland real estate, featured in the 1994 film Mary Silliman’s War, includes 52.3 acres at the end of a point of land that juts into the Atlantic Ocean with two-thirds of a mile of rocky coastline, including a 1040ft round-stone beach. A 1,752-square-foot house that was constructed around 1780 graces the property. This two-bedroom, 1.5-bath home, with a screen porch facing the sea, was moved in the mid-1970s from the town of Milton, NS, to its current West Green Harbour location, then restored to showcase its original 18th-century style. There also is a two-level barn, a boathouse and a 636-square-foot cottage on site as well as a sheltered harbor for boat dockage about a mile away. Blue Island is a place where stories are created, and the next chapter is ready to be written.
In the 1970s, New York-based actress Anne Priest fell in love with Nova Scotia and purchased a mainland property on the Atlantic Ocean as well as Blue Island just off the coast. The stunning landscape prompted a shift in focus from city lights to sheep farming, and she moved her flock from New York to Nova Scotia each summer, herding some on the island and others in the mainland pasture at her house, where she could view the sheep and island from her kitchen windows. Before she passed away, she wrote a lovely memoir about her experiences, Trafficking in Sheep.
Now this magical property is on the market, awaiting a new owner to delight and inspire. Blue Island is 136 undeveloped acres with fresh water springs and approximately 2.25 miles of shoreline containing dramatic natural features named long ago by area fishermen. At the Porpoise Hole, the tides and waves sometimes cause water to shoot 20 feet above the island’s eastern cliffs with an explosive whoosh akin to air forced through a blowhole. Nearby Hell Hole—a giant fissure in the cliffs that compresses entering waves—emits a rattling racket as water churns across its stony bottom. Blackbeard’s Cove is a tranquil natural harbor created from grassy headlands and vertical stretches of rock. Local legend says that the pirate Blackbeard hid his treasure on Blue Island, although no trace has been discovered.
The mainland real estate, featured in the 1994 film Mary Silliman’s War, includes 52.3 acres at the end of a point of land that juts into the Atlantic Ocean with two-thirds of a mile of rocky coastline, including a 1040ft round-stone beach. A 1,752-square-foot house that was constructed around 1780 graces the property. This two-bedroom, 1.5-bath home, with a screen porch facing the sea, was moved in the mid-1970s from the town of Milton, NS, to its current West Green Harbour location, then restored to showcase its original 18th-century style. There also is a two-level barn, a boathouse and a 636-square-foot cottage on site as well as a sheltered harbor for boat dockage about a mile away. Blue Island is a place where stories are created, and the next chapter is ready to be written.
