Argyle Township Court House and Archives

Record #: BAR0116

Last Modified: 16 Nov 2017

Last Full Update: 27 Jul 2016

Location

Located In	Tusket
Where To Find Us	8162 Hwy 3 Tusket, NS B0W 3M0
Areas Served	Yarmouth County

Contact

Website	www.argylecourthouse.com
E-Mail	jfrotten@argylecourthouse.com
Phone	902-648-2493
Contact	Judy Frotten, Heritage Development Officer; Phone: 902-648-2493; Email: jfrotten@argylecourthouse.com
Mailing Address	c/o Argyle Township Court House & Archives PO Box 101 Tusket, NS B0W 3M0
Fax	902-648-2537
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Description & Services

Information

The Argyle Township Court House & Gaol is Canada’s oldest standing courthouse, built in the village of Tusket, Nova Scotia in 1805. It operated as a working courthouse and jail from 1805 until 1944. The building served as the Municipal Offices for the Municipality of Argyle from 1945 until 1976. In 1982, the building was partially restored and re-opened as a museum and historic site and in 2005, was officially declared a National Historic Site.

The Argyle Township Court House Archives was established in 1983 and became the first Municipal Archives in Nova Scotia. The archives was formed around the large body of municipal records that remained in the Argyle Township Court House when the Municipal Offices removed from the building in 1976.

The archives continued to operate from the Court House from 1983 to 2006. In 2000, the Argyle Municipality Historical & Genealogical Society took the bold move of purchasing the former Seventh-Day Adventist church building located on the property to the south of the Court House. The municipal archives now sit in this building.

Hours

Court House: July & August, Open Daily, 9am-5pm
Court House: May, June, Sept., & Oct., Open Mon.- Fri., 9am–12pm & 1pm-4pm
Archives: Open Year Round, Mon.-Fri, 8:30am-12pm & 1pm-4:30pm.

Special Information

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