Whitney Pier: A vibrant community built of steel

This wall greets visitors to the Open Hearth Park in Sydney. The wall's art takes visitors through the history of the community.

For nearly a century, the Sydney Steel Plant played an enormous role in the lives of the people of Sydney, N.S.

The opening of the Dominion Steel Plant in 1901 brought many people to the area, from as far away as Italy and Poland, as well as from the African Nova Scotian community.

The Whitney Pier Historical Museum is filled with photos, files and artifacts that showcase the history of the multicultural community.

“The steel plant was the big draw. There was work, a new life here for these people. Turned out to be an absolute wonderful place to be,” says Simon Gillis of the Whitney Pier Historical Museum.

It was the Dominion Iron and Steel Company that stirred the Whitney Pier melting pot. Workers from Poland, Italy, Croatia and the Caribbean flocked to the pier and built a new community.

“At one time, we had sixteen different religious affiliations here,” says Simon Gillis of the Whitney Pier Historical Museum. “The churches, a lot of them are still here. Some of them are closing down now, unfortunately, but it was an actual melting pot.”

The community of Whitney is named after Henry Melville Whitney, an American industrialist who established the Dominion Coal Company in 1893 and the Dominion Iron and Steel Company in 1901.

Former Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis is from Whitney Pier. Her father was the longest serving minister at St. Phillips African Orthodox Church.

Archbishop Vincent Waterman says the blending of cultures made Whitney Pier an example for the country.

“They learned to live together, learned one another’s languages and I think that’s the way it should be, not only in the workplace, but after work,” says Waterman.

Retired steel worker Kaz Shiepierski says the community continued to be vibrant through his teen years.

“We all played together,” says Shiepierski. “Baseball, football, I mean that was all, it was a beautiful community and it just disappeared.”

The closure of the steel mill has changed the community, but it is believed ventures like the new Open Hearth Park, built on the site of the Sydney tar ponds, will help turn a page.

“Well, it is certainly a great appeal, compared to what was there before and with all the facilities down there now, I’m sure everybody’s going to enjoy them,” says Gillis.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh