The Cable Story in Canso and Hazel Hill
In order to understand why the cables came into Canso and Hazel Hill, and why our area was of such strategic importance, we should take a look at some earlier developments.
The company that first established the cable link between Ireland and Newfoundland had been granted a special charter giving them exclusive landing rights for any cables to Newfoundland or Labrador for a period of fifty years. With the completion of the transatlantic cable of 1866 it became evident to other business people that this new communications link could be put to good advantage, for example, in order to sell news stories. In addition, the fees for sending messages across the Atlantic made it a profitable venture. Many other individuals and companies were determined to cash in on this new opportunity.
These other companies were not allowed access to Newfoundland or Labrador to land their cables, so naturally they looked to the nearest point to Ireland in North America, which happened to be the Canso area. Consider also the reality that a message sent from Ireland to New York would be transmitted by cable to Heart's Content, Newfoundland, then on overland telegraph to Cape Ray, Newfoundland, by cable to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and then by telegraph to New York. This method was more prone to errors being made in the message along the way as it was transferred from one line to another.
With steady improvements being made in the construction of submarine cables it would become possible to span the distance from Ireland to Canso, and at the same time install a direct cable link with New York. The advantages of a cable link between Europe and North America with only one relay station along the way were phenomenal.
This map shows the main cable routes between North America and Europe. More transatlantic cables would come to Canso than any other port along the Atlantic Coast of Canada and the United States.
Three Cable Companies in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia
Faraday Station
In 1874, the Direct United States Cable Company landed at Tor Bay, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Known as the Faraday Station, and only some thirty miles from Canso; it operated until 1887. The Western Union Company located a cable station in the town of Canso in 1881. In 1884, the newly created Commercial Cable Company established its relay station for transatlantic traffic in Hazel Hill, just two miles from Canso. Many of the operators from Tor Bay worked for both Western Union and Commercial Cable. It appears that the services of these cable operators were very much in demand.
The Western Union Telegraph Company began in 1856 and grew quickly. In 1866, it expanded by purchasing the American Telegraph Company which had leases on most of the land lines in North America and also had an interest in the construction of a cable across the Atlantic. The first cable into Canso was landed on May 23, 1881. The cable office was located at the base of Norris' Hill, and today the building is used as the Town's Administration Office. Housing for the employees was constructed at two locations, near the harbour and on School Street. The first superintendent was C. B. Dunham, and there were up to forty members on staff at peak times. For several years the staff was moved to Sydney where the company had landed some of its cables, but soon after, the Canso office was than brought up to full operation. In 1923, the company constructed twelve new homes in Canso for its operators and created a very distinctive streetscape on Carlton Terrace, overlooking the town. Western Union left Canso permanently in 1955.
Commercial Cable was the newest company in the area, and it did not take long for it to establish itself as a major player in the cable business. J. W. Mackay and J. Gordon Bennett had formed a partnership, and in 1884, the Commercial Cable Company had established its office at Hazel Hill. For this period in time, the homes and facilities that were provided for the employees of the Cable Company were second to none. There were over twenty family homes constructed and a bachelors' residence along with a clubhouse. The properties were very well maintained by the company and plenty of activities and sporting events were organized by the Staff Athletic Association. At its peak of operations, shortly after the turn of the century, Commercial Cable employed about 75 people. The company's influence on Canso was felt for 77 years. When you consider that this spanned over four generations you get some idea of the number of people who had been involved in the story. Commercial Cable ceased operations in 1962 when Mr. Charles L. Holness sent the final message over the cable and turned the station off.
