The population then was two or three times what it is now. Present-day economic activity Present-day economic activity includes a few commercial farms (cultivated strawberries, dairy, and sheep), pulp wood, fire wood, and timber harvesting, lowbush blueberry and Christmas tree production, and clam mollusc harvesting (i.e. "clam digging"). Most present-day residents however commute to assorted work done outside the community. Most commuters go to Truro and its surrounding area. Heritage and history Bass River was founded by members of the Ulster emigrant "Judge" James Fulton's family, who himself in c.1767 was the first to settle the area (at King's Rest) a decade after the tragic expulsion of Acadians from the region. Those who settled Bass River and its neighbouring communities were largely of direct Ulster-Scottish descent. Many of these settlers' descendants have remained in the community as is evident from a list of surnames prevalent in the area today. Ulster-Scottish Campbells, Creelmans, Davisons/Davidsons, Fishers, Fultons, McLellans, Starratts/Starritts, Vances, and Wilsons settled the area, as did Lewis's from Scotland. Other common surnames of the area include Burns, Cameron, Carde, Carr, Cooke, Corbett, Dickie, Faulkner, Fletcher, Gamble, Gilbert, Grue, Jordan, Lawson, McIntosh, Rushton, Rutherford, Smith, Taggart, Taylor, Thompson, and Welch. Most of these names have Ulster-Scottish or Scottish origins, as much of Colchester County was settled by Ulster Scots. Settlement took place in what was then merely an unnamed parcel of the Township of Londonderry, an area centred on the present-day community of Londonderry. Prior to British settlement, it is believed that Acadian families lived in what are now the neighbouring communities of Economy and Portapique (or Portaupique), places whose names were most likely derived from Acadian French language. Mi'kmaq Indigenous Peoples / First Nations peoples are thought to have hunted and gathered in Colchester County for several hundred years prior to British control and settlement. Education West Colchester Consolidated district public school for grades primary to 9 is located on Mines Road, Bass River. (Mines Road, the designated official name, is referred to locally, until it reaches Hoeg's Corner, as "Maple Avenue".) A Chignecto-Central Regional School Board proposal to close the Bass River Elementary school was acted upon in 2013. Prior to this West Colchester Consolidated students in grades primary to 4 attended Bass River Elementary, located on the same road. References S. Ward Hemeon. History of Bass River, Nova Scotia. 1987: (unpublished manuscript) External links Bass River Heritage Society Destination: