discovered there in 1847." The Acadian settlers built dykes to create farmland from the area's extensive salt marsh. The village partially exists on this created land, which is still farmed. The dyked land, situated at a substantially lower elevation than the inhabited portion of Great Village, is a heritage-engineering site worthy of note. In the early nineteenth century this village was called 'The Port of Londonderry' and was a Port of Registry." Several shipyards thrived in the late 19th century and along with lumber exports created the wealth which built many of the fine, large Victorian-period houses and gardens visible today around the village. Foremost among them was the shipbuilder John M. Blaikie who built a massive four-masted barque named after himself in 1885, the barque John M. Blaikie. Along with the barque Kings County built across the Minas Basin, John M. Blaikie was one of only two four masted barques ever built in Canada and among the largest wooden sailing vessels built in the country. Literary significance In her youth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Bishop lived with her grandparents, William Brown Bulmer and Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Bulmer, in Great Village. The Bulmer House, also known as the Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat and is a Nova Scotia Provincially Recognized Heritage Site. Elizabeth Bishop based many of her stories on the life of a fictional village of the same name. One story is called appropriately, "In the Village". Notable residents George Wylie Hutchinson Elizabeth Bishop Mahon Cemetery The Mahon Cemetery is Great Village's historic cemetery which is still in use today, Buried in it are many early settlers and their descendants including Elizabeth Bishop's grandparents and other relatives as well as many of the villagers who were portrayed in her poetry. References External links Destination: Nova Scotia with a map of the Great Village area Great Village Community Association Communities in Colchester County