Historical Wharves

Remnants of the Queen's Wharf

Town Hall and Fort Anne grounds can be seen in the background.

Foster Wharf

The remains of this wharf are situated between the Queen's Wharf and the McCormick Wharf as you travel NE along the waterfront.

W. McCormicks and Sons Wharf

The close of the Civil War found several family-owned commercial establishments solidly entrenched on the Annapolis waterfront. Those directly connected with whipping were William McCormick & Sons, A.W. Corbitt & Son, Joseph Foster, Thomas Gavaza & Sons, and the firm of Rick & Hardwick. Each firm boasted a high water wharf and owned outright or was managing owner of at least one brig or trading schooner. (Armstrong P., Wagner M., 2000)

A.W. Corbitt's Wharf

The close of the Civil War found several family-owned commercial establishments solidly entrenched on the Annapolis waterfront. Those directly connected with whipping were William McCormick & Sons, A.W. Corbitt & Son, Joseph Foster, Thomas Gavaza & Sons, and the firm of Rick & Hardwick. Each firm boasted a high water wharf and owned outright or was managing owner of at least one brig or trading schooner. (Armstrong P., Wagner M., 2000)

A.W. Corbitt's Wharf

One of the two A.W. Corbitt's wharves.

Dominion Railway Wharf

In 1869, the completion of the Windsor & Annapolis railway and the construction of the railway wharf brought sweeping changes to the port of Annapolis.

The railway wharf jutted out over 350 feet into the river with the outer T providing a landing stage at any tide level. Three lines of spur tracks with a crossover ran the full length of the wharf, thus ensuring the prompt transfer of passengers, mail, and freight from vessel to rail. Annapolis became the gateway to the entire valley. (Armstrong P., Wagner M., 2000)

View of Railway Wharf from Town.

After the completion of the rail Annapolis became the gateway to the entire valley. Three lines of spur tracks with a crossover ran the full length of the wharf, thus ensuring the prompt transfer of passengers, mail, and freight from vessel to rail. (Armstrong P., Wagner M., 2000)

Ship alongside Railway Wharf

Gavaza Wharf

The close of the Civil War found several family-owned commercial establishments solidly entrenched on the Annapolis waterfront. Those directly connected with shipping were William McCormick & Sons, A.W. Corbitt & Sons, Joseph Foster, Thomas Gavaza & Sons, and the firm of Rick & Hardwick. Each firm boasted a high water wharf and owned outright or was managing owner of at least one brig or trading schooner.(Armstrong P., Wagner M., 2000)

Pickles & Mills Wharf

The mercantile, lumbering and shipping firm of Pickles and Mills was another great success story of the Annapolis Royal waterfront. Pickles and Mills was founded in 1871 by Captain Christopher Dunn Pickles and Albert Douglas Mills, two Granville men who quickly recognized the potential of the new port facilities in Annapolis Royal. The partners lost no time in purchasing the former Rice & Hardwick business stand on Lower Saint George Street, which included a large general store, warehouses, and its own high water wharf. Strategically located within a stone's throw of the railway wharf, the Pickles and Mills General Store and Ship Chandlers soon became a popular gathering place for the seafaring fraternity from both sides of the river.

Pickles & Mills High Water Wharf

Ferry Slip, Annapolis Royal

The Ferry Wharf was directly in front of the O'Dell Inn. It can be seen in the foreground, yellow building with red trim.

Name Unknown

The remains of this wharf lie between the Ferry Wharf and the Acadia Pier. At the present time we have not been able to identify a name for this wharf.

Name Unknown

The remains of this wharf lie between Ferry Wharf and Acadia Pier. At the present time we have not been able to identify a name for this wharf.

Acadian Pier

To Laurence Delap and Thomas S. Whitman, the obvious future of the apple export trade lay in the establishment of a direct steamship service between the ports of Annapolis and London, England. The Acadia Steamship Company became a reality on March 31, 1818 (Chapter 53 of the Legislative Acts of the Dominion Parliament, 1881). The Act of Incorporation empowered the new company to own real estate on which to erect piers, warehouses and sheds, and steamships and vessels for general transportation purposes, and particularly to run to and from Annapolis Royal and ports in the United Kingdom. Lawrence Delap supervised the construction of the waterfront terminals. These included a pier sufficient in length to provide a 30 foot depth of water at low tide, two warehouses (one of wood and the other of frost-proof brick) and a mile of spur railway tracks across the town marsh to link the new pier to the main line of the Windsor and Annapolis Railway.

Whitman's Company Pier

The warehouse of the Acadia Steamship Company was opened for traffic on December 12, 1881. The following from the Halifax Chronicle Files give some indication of the scope of shipping activity: The British steamer Copia cleared from Annapolis yesterday with a cargo of 8000 barrels of apples for the London market (May 2, 1882); The steamer Cedar Grove will take 5000 barrels of apples from Annapolis to England on her next trip (November 2, 1884); The steamer Oceana has been chartered to load another cargo of apples at Annapolis for London Direct (March 7, 1884).

The pier later became known as a Acadia Pier.

Acadian Pier

Around 1891, Thomas Whitman purchased the Acadia Pier and channeled his energies into a new direction the processing and marketing of dried apples on an international scale. He converted the piers big red warehouse into an evaporating plant, installing up-to-date equipment, and developed his own technique for processing and packaging. For the next three or four years, the firm of Whitman & Sons shipped quantities of dried apples to markets both at home and abroad.

Annapolis-Granville Bridge Remnants

This photo shows what is left of the Annapolis Granville Bridge abutment on the Annapolis side, taken a low tide.

Remains of Abutment for Annapolis Granville Bridge

This photo was taken looking towards Granville Ferry.

Annapolis-Granville Bridge Abutment

Annapolis Granville Bridge Abutment The contract for the steel superstructure was awarded to the Dominion Bridge Company of Montreal. They assembled the 870 tons of steel required for the bridge at the former shipyard site on Hog Island. Construction began in May, 1921 with official opening on November 17th and a final cost of $317,000. When completed each of the ten spans was rolled down onto two big scows, both of which were provided with an engine to control the mooring lines. When a span was afloat on the scows, it was warped into position just before high tide so that it would settle into place as the tide fell. The largest span was 294 feet long and weighed 264 tons with the total length of bridge coming to 1,360 feet. The bridge was in operation until June 9, 1960, during construction of the Annapolis River Causeway, when a small span dropped into the river. A ferry service was re-established until October while work on the Causeway was speeded up. (The Annapolis Heritage Society)

Annapolis-Granville Bridge

The contract for the steel superstructure was awarded to the Dominion Bridge Company of Montreal. They assembled the 870 tons of steel required for the bridge at the former shipyard site on Hog Island. Construction began in May, 1921 with official opening on November 17th and a final cost of $317,000. When completed each of the ten spans was rolled down onto two big scows, both of which were provided with an engine to control the mooring lines. When a span was afloat on the scows, it was warped into position just before high tide so that it would settle into place as the tide fell. The largest span was 294 feet long and weighed 264 tons with the total length of bridge coming to 1,360 feet. The bridge was in operation until June 9, 1960, during construction of the Annapolis River Causeway, when a small span dropped into the river. A ferry service was re-established until October while work on the Causeway was speed up.

Annapolis-Granville Bridge (1921)

Bridge after collapse of the first section

Annapolis-Granville Bridge - Being Demolished

Swing Span for Annapolis - Granville Bridge

Annapolis Royal - Granville Ferry Bridge

Neville Wharf

John Mills #1

Also known as Amberman's Wharf.

John Mills #2

Granville Ferry Slip

Annapolis Royal in the background.

Wharf Behind John Brittain's

Also known as Amberman's Wharf.

Fletcher Reed Wharf

Widow Dunn Wharf

Caribbean Wharf

Willet / Collin Wharf