Port Phillip | genealogyhistory

Port Philip

The beautiful River Philip winds its way for many miles and empties into the Northumberland Strait. The story goes that a Mikmaq threw a bottle into the river and as it filled with water he hear the sound flip, flip and that is how it got its name. All surrounding land for miles was called mouth of River Philip until 1866 when the country by the mouth of the river needed a name. George Henry Johnson named it Port Philip.

George King, later called Colonel King, was born in 1784. Between 1809 and 1812, he commanded the militia forces in Cumberland county. At the militia review in Amherst in 1809, Major General Hunter who commanded the British forces in NB was so impressed with the soldier-like and martial way in which George handled the militia, that he offered him a Captain's commission in the British army. He was unable to pursue it as he was looking after his ill mother. He and wife Maria born in 1789 married in 1808 and raised a family of thirteen children. The first child born in 1809, Sarah King, was the first white child born in Port Philip. The first school house was built on land owned by Mr. King as it is said his children all attended school here. Since 1900, the building was used as a blacksmith shop and torn down in 1939.

The next school house was built in 1866 by J.W. Chisholm of Oxford and is Rockley School now, and children of Port Philip attended there.

Another old blacksmith shop was operated here for many years by Mr. Hazen McNutt on land at Johnson’s Corner, long since gone. Mr. McNutt passed away in 1911, aged 86 years.

Thomas Johnson, born 1816 and wife Susan Fullton born 1819 moved here from Williamsdale in 1852. The last house that he and his son George Henry built in 1870 is still occupied by the Johnsons. At about the same time Camerons, McDonalds, Kennedys, Chisholms and Frasers moved here from Pictou County.

The first Post Office was here about a hundred years ago and was run by Joshua King. The first hard surface road was built in 1939. The first steam saw mill was run by Thomas Webster at McNutt’s Point about 1870. Logs came from up the river and were sawn, made into rafts and possed to Pugwash for shipment overseas. They also sawed ship timer and William Muchler had a ship yard across the river on land eventually occupied by Joshua Allen’s lovster plant. The last one, “The Condor”, his son Captain Pat loaded with lumber and sailed for England. He came back with a load of cotton from Savannah, Georgia.

At first a ferry conveyed the teams and passengers from McNutt’s Point to the other side of the river. A wooden bridge was built in 1853 . It went down and the steel bridge was built in 1884.

A church was built in 1897, the Port Philip Presbyterian Church. It is now the United Church.