The community of Whitney Pier began to take root in the 19th century and grew up largely around the coal and steel industries. In the mid-1890s, H.M. Whitney, a Boston industrialist who was also president of the Dominion Coal Company, constructed coal-loading piers beside those already in place. H.M. Whitney wanted to capitalize on the abundance of Cape Breton coal by promising steel production in the area.

Wesley Street in Whitney Pier, 1912

Blast Furnaces and Open Hearth

The community flourished with the construction and operation of the steel plant at the beginning of the 20th century, and for almost the entire century, the production of steel became an integral part of Whitney Pier. In fact, its growth as an urban industrial economy was inextricably tied to steel making, and the ups and downs of the industry have directly affected its development throughout the century. In the first decades of this century, Sydney had the largest heavy industry in the Maritime Provinces. It was during these decades that many strikes and turbulent labour unrest occurred due to the terrible working conditions of the steelworkers. Many of these strikes were brutally dealt with by Canada's own military and provincial police forces, and Canada Day, July 1st, 1923, is remembered as Bloody Sunday in Whitney Pier; a day when the "provincial police rode down the people at Whitney Pier".

Steel Plant, 1920s. The white tents were pitched by striking workers

Early steelworkers

Preparing to send in the troops to crush an early strike

A century of steel making has left a toxic legacy in Sydney and Whitney Pier. The ill-fated Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens sites have posed a potentially serious environmental hazard to those living in and around the area, though attempts to clean up these sites is underway. (for more information on the environmental impacts of steel making in Sydney, go to www.muggah.org, which is the site of the Joint Action Group overseeing the clean up, and to www.sierraclub.ca/stp/, for environmental facts.) After assuming control of steel making in Sydney in 1967, the Nova Scotia provincial government has since announced plans to privatize steel making operations. Work was the primary factor in the development of Whitney Pier. The transportation of coal and the production of steel resulted in hundreds of different types of jobs and provided the key to orientation to the community. However, not all of the people of Whitney Pier worked in the coal and steel industries: a tradition of business and trades developed, as well as a wealth of literary and political skills. Artistic and athletic interests added to these, resulting in a nearly self-sufficient economic and social life.

Feder's Store

Jewish Peddlers in the 1920s

For decades Bernie's Bakery was a landmark in Whitney Pier