Inverness Miners Museum

05/26/2026

Have you seen our documentary? Dig deeper into the history of Inverness! Learn about the early history of this once coal mining boom town. $4.99 for single view or $12.99 for unlimited views. Proceeds from sales support museum operations.

Underpaid. Undervalued. Underestimated.This engaging feature documentary explores the history of Inverness Coal Mines, from the discovery of abundant quality coal in a remote settlement on Cape Breton Island to the arrival of wealthy foreign developers and miners from around the world. But as the ye...

05/18/2026

05/15/2026

Produced by Winterlight Productions for Eastlink.

Excellent documentary.

S6E9: Sandy visits the Inverness Miners Museum, which presents the regions 19th and 20th-century coal-mining history.Watch Maritime Museums Sundays at 5:30pm...

05/14/2026

We were delighted to have Kyle MacQuarrie - MLA for Inverness visit the museum today where Inverness Miners Museum (IHS) secretary Ben MacKay gave him a tour of the museum.

05/07/2026

Coal Town Road

We get up in the black, down the coal town road;
And we hike along the track, where the coal trains load.
And we make the ponies pull ’til they nearly break their backs,
And they’ll never see again, down the coal town road.

We hear the whistle call, down the coal town road;
And we take our towels and all, where the coal trains load.
In the cages then we drop ’til there’s nowhere else to fall,
And we leave the world behind us, down the coal town road.

We never see the sun, down the coal town road;
At a penny for a ton, where the coal trains load.
When the shift comes up on top we’re so thankful to be done,
We head home to sleep and dream, about the coal town road.

There’s miners’ little sons, down the coal town road,
Playing with their cowboy guns, where the coal trains load.
For they’d better make the best of their childhood while it runs;
There’s a pick and shovel waitin’, down the coal town road.

If there’s a God for us, down the coal town road,
All the miners He can bless, where the coal trains load.
For we’re sweatin’ in the hole suckin’ down the devil’s dust,
Just to keep the fires a-blazin’ down the coal town road.

Words and music by Allister MacGillivray
© Cabot Trail Music.

05/06/2026

We were thrilled to have IECA grade five class visit the museum today!

Ben MacKay conducted a wonderful tour of the Inverness Miners Museum and Mary Chisholm shared some local history.

The students were very inquisitive and attentive and it was a joy having them.

Photo credit: Francis A. MacDonald IHS

05/06/2026

Picture yourself in 1931 arriving at the outskirts of Inverness. You come to a crossroads in a place called Strathlorne and you don’t know which direction the town is in. You’ll have to ask the locals for help. You see a few old fellas leaning on a fence nearby. There’s only one problem.

“Ciamar a tha sibh?”

They don’t speak English.

Among the oldest Scots of this era there was no need for it. In the fields and forests of Strathlorne, Broad Cove or Dunvegan 90% of the population spoke Scottish Gàidhlig as their first language. English though, was creeping in and most of their children and grandchildren, were bilingual. With industry, came investment from the mainland, and from the mainland came more people speaking English.

In 1931, when the census was taken, Inverness was a coal mining boomtown. There were 2900 people in the town itself. To put this in perspective, in 2021, there were 1228 people in Inverness. It’s difficult to imagine the town doubling (and more) in population. If we expand our thinking to “Inverness and surrounding areas” roughly St. Rose to Kenloch, the population in 1931 was an astonishing 4200.

55% of those 4200 spoke a Gaelic word as their first. It would have been something like “mathair” (ma-hair) instead of “mother”, or perhaps “bainne” (bahn-yah) instead of “milk”.

1151/2900 in Inverness (Town) spoke Gaelic as their first language.

288/322 in Broad Cove Banks spoke Gaelic as their first language.

124/138 in Strathlorne spoke Gaelic as their first language.

201/230 in Kenloch spoke Gaelic as their first language.

261/294 in Broad Cove Chapel spoke Gaelic as their first language.

338/372 in Dunvegan spoke Gaelic as their first language.

May is Gaelic Nova Scotia Month (Mios nan Gàidheal), and as I grow older I find myself romanticizing the language of our ancestors. At a time when the provincial government is cutting cultural programs, it seems like we should reflect on the near loss of this language. In 2021 there were 180 people in the entire county of Inverness who listed Gaelic as a language they were fluent in. This is about 1% of our 17,000 residents.

Maybe we’re fighting an insurmountable battle, but on the 2026 census, I’m adding 1 more to the Scottish Gàidhlig column. I couldn’t carry a conversation with the old fellas in 1931 yet, but I could probably ask for directions.

“Cait a bheil An Sithean?”

05/06/2026

05/06/2026

We are one day late with this post. 41 years ago yesterday the last train rolled out of Inverness. The train consisted of Engines 1757 and 1769, 15 hoppers of coal from Evans Coal Mine and caboose 79910. Thanks to Louis MacIsaac for the information!