April 09

The History of the Sea Dog

The Sea Dog Saloon is located in the historic town of Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Nestled on the third finest natural harbour in the world and was once the fourth largest community in North America when, in 1783 about 3000 United Empire Loyalists arrived in ships from New York City and the population quickly grew to more than 10,000. As a result of this migration, nearby Birchtown became the first free black settlement in Canada. The United Empire Loyalists, who maintained allegiance to the British Crown during the American Revolution, created an instant boom town in the wilderness. The population, which had grown so quickly, then decreased within twenty years to a few hundred, as the loyalists moved to other destinations.

The waterfront Heritage District retains an aura of the 18th century. The Ross-Thomson House, which has the oldest restored store in North America; the Shelburne County Museum, which has the oldest fire pumper in North America; the Dory Shop, where the art of dory-making is demonstrated each day during the summer; the Coyle House, where Tottie's Crafts sell their wares, and the Muir-Cox Shipyard, where the time-honored craft of wooden boat building is on display daily and where the shipbuilding heritage of the community is portrayed.

The waterfront was the setting in 1994 for the movie "The Scarlet Letter" starring Demi Moore, Gary Oldman and Robert Duvall. Part of the movie set remains for tourists with an authentic historic market square. When the movie was finished the cast and crew held their WRAP (as in, it's a wrap) party at the Sea Dog, The Poor Boys, one of our local bands played for the crowd.

The Sea Dog Saloon is located in the middle of all this history. The establishment has a seating capacity of 170 with two floors and harbour side deck. It is the prime location for viewing Shelburne harbour and numerous local and visiting yachts. Some famous visitors have been "The Bounty", "The Matthew" and "The Bluenose".

The Sea Dog is located on the site of the original Shelburne Yacht Club (land purchase Sept 4th, 1904) and was named Bruce's Wharf. The Wreck Room, our upstairs lounge was originally named McGowans. Both names originate from family's that owned the land as far back as 1888.

The structure of the building is loosely based on the Original Yacht Club. The original club was disbanded after the club house on Dock Street fell victim to the effects of Hurricane Edna in 1954.

The current building was built in the mid 70's and has continued uninterrupted service since.

Last update May, 2009