Baddeck

Baddeck, NS, incorporated as a village in 1950, population 769 (2011c), 873 (2006c). The Village of Baddeck is located on the north shore of Bras d'Or Lake, 60 km west of North Sydney. It lies on the southern part of the Cabot Trail. Baddeck was the summer home of inventor Alexander Graham Bell, as well as the site of the first airplane flight in the British Empire (1909). The flight of the Silver Dart and many of Bell's inventions are brought to life in the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Tribute is also paid to Bell's wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, whose work with deaf children gained her international fame.

The early settlers were Loyalists. In the 19th century Baddeck was prospering, and the town supplied the surrounding area with manufactured goods. There were also gold and gypsum mines, gristmills and a major shipbuilding industry. The economy of modern Baddeck relies on tourist and cultural activities such as the Bras d'Or Festival of the Arts, summer theatre and sailing regattas.