# Place-Names of the Province of Nova Scotia/D

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DALHOUSIE (K.)—Named in honor of George Ramsay, the ninth Lord Dalhousie, who was Lieut.-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1816 and afterwards Governor of Canada from 1820-28.
DALHOUSIE (A.)—(See Dalhousie, K.).
DALHOUSIE COLLEGE—(See Halifax.)
DALHOUSIE MOUNTAINS (P.)—First settled by Peter Arthur, a native of the Orkneys; later in 1815 by a number of families from the Lowlands of Scotland. (See Dalhousie.) The first settlers here had some difficulty about their titles, some speculators laying claim to them. The Earl Dalhousie interfered and made satisfactory arrangements for the settlers, who in their gratitude named the place after him.
DALHOUSIE ROAD (L.)—(See Dalhousie).
DANE CORNER (Y.)—Named after a resident and very early settler, Thomas Dane.
DARES POINT—(L.)—A point on the east side of Mahone Bay called after a family of Dares, which is a very common family name in Lunenburg County.
DAREY LAKE (L.)—Named after an early settler James Darey, whose name appears among the original grantees of Lunenburg Township.
DARTMOUTH (H.)—One of the Townships of Halifax County. Was first settled in the year 1751. Named after the Earl of Dartmouth, an English Secretary of State, and great confidant of Queen Anne. His name was William Legge; born 1731, died 1801. The first immigrants arrived in 1750 or 1751 in the ship "Alderney." In 1784 thirty Nantucket families settled in Dartmouth.
Dartmouth was incorporated as a town in 1873.
DAUPHIN (V.)—(See Cape Dauphin).
DAUPHINIE LAKE (L.)—Named after an old family of early settlers; the name 'John Dauphinie appears among the original grantees of Lunenburg.
​DAYSPRING LAKE (P.)—The children of the Presbyterian churches in the Lower Provinces in the year 1863-64 built a vessel in New Glasgow to be used as a mission ship in the South Seas. They named it the "Dayspring." The spars for the vessel were brought from the neighborhood of this lake, which was for this reason named after the vessel.
DEADMAN COVE (C. B.)—Near Bridgeport, on the southern side of Lingan Bay. So named because a number of bodies that Had been washed ashore were found and buried there.
DEBERT (Col.)—The grant for this place was previous to the grant of the Township of Londonderry (1775) and was given to the first settler, Anthony Caverley.
DEBERT POINT (Col.)—The Indian name for this point was "Pelegaloolkek," meaning "smooth flowing water."
The Indian name of this locality was "Wasokagek," meaning, "it is bright, or seen in the distance as a signal."
DEEP COVE (L.)—An arm of the sea which runs up to the base of Aspotogan. The water at the head is of sufficient depth to permit of the largest ship to lie close to the shore, hence the name.
DELAP COVE (A.)—First settled about the year 1800 by Isaac Haley and John McCaul. Haley likely Irish; McCaul was a Scotchman. The place was named after Lawrence Delap, who did not reside there, but built vessels at the place about the year 1850. The Indian name for this cove was "Medabankeajetc," meaning "the little red bank."
DELHAVEN (K.)—Formerly known as Middle Pereaux, changed to its present name by an Act of Parliament in the year 1880.
D'ENTREMONT (Y.)—Named after the Frenchman, D'Entremont, who brought the French immigrants that settled there in 1650. It is of interest to note that this man Philip D'Entremont was made Baron Pobomcon (see Pubnico) by Charles de la Tour, who was himself known as Lord of Cape Sable and Lt. of the King (French) in Acadia.
DENYS (I.)—(See River Denys).
DESCOUSSE (R.)—This name was known as early as 1752. The whole of Isle Madame was at one time called "Decoux" by the writer Pichon (1760).
​DEVIL'S GOOSE PASTURE (K.)—The legend has it that the country near Aylesford where there is a barren sand plain was once owned by the Lord, the King, and the Devil. The glebe lands to the first, the ungranted lands to the second, and the barren sand plain to the last, hence the name.
DHU POINT (C. B.)—This place bears a Gaelic name, the word Dhu meaning black.
DIGBY—Called at one time "Conway." Received its present name in honor of Admiral Robert Digby, who commanded the British convoy "Atalanta," and who brought 1500 refugees from New England in 1785. He was made commander-in-chief in North America in 1781. Formed into a County about 1841. Has two Township divisions namely, Digby and Clare. Digby Town was incorporated in 1890. The County contains 1021 square miles.
DIGBY GUT (D.)—At one time known as St. George's Channel. The Indians called it "Tee Wee Den," said to signify "Little Hole." In 1710 it was known as the "Gutt" and later as "Jennys Streights."
DIGBY NECK (D.)—Settled by Loyalists in 1783. The Indian name for this place was "Oositookun" meaning "an ear"; again it is found called by the Indians "Wagweik," meaning "the end."
DILIGENT RIVER (C.)—First settled by Lieut. Taylor and Captain Wilson about the year 1777 The place was visited by the Provincial Governor Parr, and, finding Lieut. Taylor so industrious and diligent in his effort to make a home, he named the place "Diligent River."
DINGWALL (V.)—This place was first called. "Young's Cove." In the seventies, a man named Robert Dingwall, who kept a small store at Young's Cove, made application for a post office, and suggested to the Government the name of "Dingwall." Parliament confirmed the name "Dingwall" in April 1883.
DOCTOR HEAD (C. B.)—Between Sydney Harbor and Little Bras d'Or. Named after Doctor Jean, who owned the place and lived there in the early part of the nineteenth century. It is called Oxford Point on some of the old maps.
DOG ISLAND (R.)—One time called Seal Island. Received both its old and present names from the fact that dog seals were plentiful there.
​DOGGETT POINT (Q.)—Named after John Doggett, an estimable first settler of Queens County. He came from New England in 1759, and built a house at this place.
DOMINION (C. B.)—This place was formerly part of Bridgeport; when the Dominion Coal Company sank a coal mine there it was called "Dominion No. 1." By an Act of Parliament in the year 1906 the place was named "Dominion."
DONKIN (C. B.)—Known as Dominion No. 6, one of the coal mining communities of the Dominion Coal Co., named after Hiram Donkin, a civil engineer, at one time the Company's Manager, and later Deputy Minister of Public Works and Mines for the Nova Scotia Government.
It was previous to this included in the district known as "Schooner Pond."
DONNYBROOK (P.)—Quite an unusual name to find in Pictou County. Named after the village in County Dublin, Ireland, noted for its fairs.
D'OR CAPE (C.)—So called by the French explorers who mistook native copper for gold.
DORCHESTER (Ant.)—A Township of Antigonish County. This subdivision of the County was at one time known as "Antigonish Interval." Named in honor of Sir Guy Carleton, whose title was First Baron Dorchester. (See Guysborough.)
DORY RIPS (C.)—At Cape d'Or a submarine cape extends southerly into the sea, and produces whirlpools, which is the explanation of the name.
DOUCETTE POINT (D.)—Named so after an early settler Pierre Doucette.
DOUGLAS (Hts.)—One of the six Township Divisions of Hants County.
DOUGLASS ROAD (A.)—Called after one of its early settlers named Douglas.
DOVER SOI (H.)—Pronounced Dover Swa; the meaning is obscure but is said to mean Dover Run. The name Soi appears in a number of places in Nova Scotia, and is always applied to small running streams.
DRAGOON ISLAND (C. B.)—An island on the Mira River. ​Legend has it that in early days when Sydney was a garrisoned town, two dragoons deserted with their horses. Coming to the Mira, they swam their horses from the point above Cupid's Cove to the Island.
DUBLIN, NEW DUBLIN, DUBLIN SHORE (L.)—Settled by Alexander McNutt's colonists, brought from Ireland in the year 1762. They did not remain at Dublin, but scattered throughout the Province, most of them going to New England. There were 200 in all.
DUFFERIN (H.) DUFFERIN MINES (G.)—So named in honor of Frederick Temple Hamilton Blackwood, the Marquis of Dufferin, who was Governor-General of Canada from 1872-1878.
DUNDEE (R.)—Named after the Scottish City "Dundee" the "Hill on the Tay.'" Dun being a Celtic root word meaning "Hill." The name as a whole comes from the Latin "Taodunum" meaning "Hill on the Tay."
DUNMAGLASS (Ant.)—Received its name after a town named Dunmaglass, Inverness, Scotland, from which the first settlers came in 1791. There were three brothers: Andrew, Alex and Angus McGillvray, and John McEachern. It was so named in the year 1879, and the name was suggested by the Rev. Andrew McGillvray, Parish Priest, a native and descendant of the original settlers, and an Act of Parliament was passed in that year confirming the naming of the place.
DUNVEGAN (I.)—This place, which was hitherto known as Broad Cove Marsh, is named after the cold, bleak, rock-built castle of the "McLeods of Skye." It received its present name by an Act of Parliament in the year 1885. In the Gaelic language the word "dun" means a hill.
DURHAM (P.)—This place was named after John George Lambton, the Earl of Durham, who came to Canada in 1838 to bring order out of the chaos caused by the Rebellion. The name was suggested by William Graham, merchant, and was confirmed at a public meeting held for that purpose. The place was previously known as West River.
DURKEE ISLAND (Y.)—On the Eastern side of Chebogue River. It was named after an early settler, Amasa Durkee.