The name Yarmouth first appeared as a projected
township in Nova Scotia in 1759. There is some speculation it was named after
Yarmouth, Massachusetts, as some of the earliest English settlers arrived from
Cape Cod on 9 June 1761. It is more likely the township was named after
Lady Yarmouth, a mistress of
King George II. Originally the area was part of
Lunenburg County. In 1761 it became part of
Queens County; in 1784 it became part of
Shelburne County and finally became a county on its own in 1836. The description of Yarmouth County was modified in 1846. It was then divided into two districts for court sessional purposes in 1856 – Yarmouth and Argyle. These two districts were subsequently incorporated as
district municipalities in 1879. The county was a major international
shipbuilding centre in the 19th century, producing hundreds of ships including the namesake
County of Yarmouth in 1884. In the second half of the 19th century, Yarmouth was the site of the creation of the
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. ==Geography==