It was named after the Township of Digby; this was named in honour of Rear Admiral
Robert Digby, who dispatched
HMS Atalanta to convey Loyalists from
New York City in the spring of 1783 to Conway, which became known as Digby, as part of their evacuation and resettlement following the American Revolutionary War. The Crown resettled thousands of Loyalists in Nova Scotia and other areas of Canada. Digby County was established in 1837. Previously, from August 17, 1759, when Nova Scotia was first divided into counties, this area had been part of
Annapolis County. In 1861, Digby County was divided into two sessional districts:
Digby and
Clare. These were eventually incorporated as
district municipalities in 1879. In addition to these two district municipalities, the county contains the
Town of Digby and part of the
Bear River Indian (First Nations) reserve. Also, there is
Digby Neck leading into the
Bay of Fundy to
Long Island and
Brier Island. == Demographics ==