Although legislation was passed in 1758 regulating the process of probate the Governor, through his Surrogate General, retained exclusive power over the appointment of judges of probate and the creation of courts of probate as outlined in the carious instructions to governors regarding the appointment of local officers of the courts. Until additional legislation in 1842 local officers had little guidance in determining what they were to do beyond attempting to make analogies to the Ecclesiastical Courts of England. Today's Annapolis County Court of Probate originated with the appointment of Jonathan Hoar as Judge of Probate for the County in 1767. In 1810 Elkanah Morton was appointed Judge for the Western District of the County which became Digby County in 1837. With the 1897 amendments to the Probate Act uniformity in record keeping emerged as retiring Judges were replaced with full time registrars of probate and the County Court assumed the judicial function. In Annapolis County Jacob Owen was the last Judge of Probate electing in 1912 to continue in office but as Registrar. In 1900 the Revised Statute edition of the Probate Act added many forms which provided additional uniformity to the process.
Prior to 1879 local government in Nova Scotia was the responsibility of the appointed Court of General Sessions of the Peace, which was composed of all those who held commissions as justices of the peace within a particular county. The Annapolis County Court of General Sessions of the Peace began with the creation of the county in 1759. Meeting two or more times a year, the court had both administrative and judicial functions. It was empowered to appoint local officials, who had been nominated by the Grand Jury; levy county and poor rates; exercise control over roads, bridges, prisons, hospitals, and other public works; regulate animals, weeds, fires, taverns, and the inland fisheries and perform other duties assigned by statute. It could also sit as a court of justice, with limited criminal jurisdiction, using the Grand and Petit Jury system from England. The Grand Jury decided whether a charge should proceed to trial. The Petit Jury decided on an accused’s guilt or innocence. Jury members were selected by lot from a list of male residents who either owned land or held a minimum amount of personal wealth. In 1800 Annapolis County was divided into eastern and western districts and the Court of General Sessions was required to sit twice a year in each district. In 1837 the Western District became Digby County and was subsequently under the jurisdiction of its own court. The passage of the County Incorporation Act in 1879 replaced the administrative functions of the Court of General Sessions with an elected municipal council. Its judicial function was assumed by the Supreme Court on County Circuit.
The grand jury was one of the institutions of customary law whose existence, although amended and altered by provincial legislation, was based on practice established in England. The Annapolis County Grand Jury was established when the county was created in 1759. The grand jury was chosen by lot from lists of qualified property owners prepared by a committee of the Court of General Sessions. Sitting for a year, the jury nominated individuals for the Sessions to consider for appointment to local offices; prepared financial estimates for county government; inspected the accounts of expenditures; determined the annual road work and the establishment of new roads; and claimed the right make presentations to the Sessions on topics of public interest. The grand jury also acted in a judicial capacity to determine whether sufficient evidence existed for an accused to be placed on trial by the Supreme Court. Half of the grand jury, or 12 of the 24, were required to concur, otherwise no bill was returned and the criminal case did not proceed to trial. In 1879 the advent of elective municipal government ended the administrative function of the grand jury. Although terms of jurors, their numbers, qualifications and method of appointment changed over time, the judicial function persisted until 1979 when amendments to the Jury Act abolished the grand jury
The Annapolis Royal Development Commission was established in 1977 at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, and grew out of recommendtions made by the Annapolis Royal Heritage Conservation Committee. The purpose of the ARDC was to attempt to revitalize the commercial core of the town and promote heritage conservation in Annapolis Royal. It was to co-ordinate and implement projects designed to enhance the town and promite it as a tourist attraction. It was successful in putting together funding from federal, provincial and municipal sources for these purposes. It had a mandate to acquire buildings and properties and initiated the conversion of the Lewis Transfer Building (now Newman's Restaurant), the restoration of King's Theatre, the reconstruction of the Adams-Ritchie House, the stabilizing of the Sinclair Inn, the establishment of the haul-up for boat repairs, the construction of the boardwalk, the establishment of the Annapolis Royal Historic Garden, and the designation of the Ducks Unlimited Wetlands along Allains' Creek. By March 1986 the activities of the ARDC ceased with ongoing functions taken over by the Business Improvement and Development Commission of the town of Annapolis Royal.
The Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival was founded in 1933 by the Kentville Board of Trade, the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association, and the Fruit Growers of the Annapolis Valley, and was supported by the Government of Nova Scotia. Their goals for the Festival were to raise awareness of the apple growing industry, to show-case the history and scenic beauty of the Annapolis Valley, and to develop local talent. Festival events evolved in part from the pre-existing annual Kentville Carnival and Apple Blossom Sunday. Since its inception, the majority of the events and pageantry remain unchanged. Presently the Festival also includes various musical and sporting events, church services, dances, a children's parade, and the Grande Street Parade. The Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival occurs annually in late May or early June.
The Town of Antigonish is incorporated as recorded in the following proclamation…‘the inhabitants of Antigonish, in the County of Antigonish, have, by a vote of 88 to 85 taken on 31 of December 1888, elected to incorporate said Town under Chapter 1 of the Acts of 1888, as appears by the official return of the Sheriff of said County to the Provincial Secretary dated the 31st of December aforesaid’. A proclamation of Incorporation is executed by the provincial government on January 9, 1889. The first meeting of the Antigonish Town Council was held February 11th, 1889.
The Arcadia Consolidated Home and School Association was formed in 1958 to support the operations of the newly-opened Arcadia Consolidated School in Arcadia, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The association raised money for school clubs, equipment, and activities. A president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer were elected annually. The Arcadia Consolidated Home and School Association affiliated itself with the Nova Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations. This provincial umbrella organization, amongst its many other education and outreach services, provided a model constitution to local home and school associations which identified the associations' key aims as follows: to promote co-operation between teachers, parents and school boards; to encourage the study of educational and child development issues; to ensure that all members of the community derived maximum benefit from the school; and to study and support all progressive measures of local and municipal school boards and of the provincial Department of Education.
The first Women's Institutes were organized in Nova Scotia in 1913 by the Department of Agriculture to improve social conditions and provide education and instruction to their members. The Institute was established in response to a national movement, originating in Ontario in 1911. The goal of the movement was to encourage the education of rural women. In Arcadia, Yarmouth County, N.S., the Women's Institute was organized on 10 August 1915. Eighteen women initially signed on with eighteen more joining in the next few months. Monthly meetings were held, often in members' homes, and the group was funded by an annual grant from the Department of Agriculture, membership dues and by raising money locally. The group focused its early attention on sending Red Cross comfort packages and money to soldiers during World War I. One of the group's first major accomplishment, the Arcadia Cenotaph, was erected by the Institute in the early 1920's, marking the deaths of five local soldiers during the War. The Institute was instrumental in establishing a community hall in 1923, and is still responsible for its maintenance. Because the Women's Institute could not own land or property, the Village of Arcadia Improvement Society was established to legally hold the mortgage and ownership of the monument and the hall. In the early years the group was involved with youth and education but the school involvement was dropped when schools amalgamated in the 1950s. By the mid 1920s six standing committees had been established: legislation, home and school, health, home economics, agriculture, and home industries. Other activities were exchanging recipes, musical performances, crafts, discussions on social issues, starting a library, and village improvement. The Women's Institute remains active in Arcadia.
The Halifax Ladies' College was incorporated in connection with the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1887 (Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1881 c. 91). Its first home was the mansion on Pleasant Street which had been built for Richard John Uniacke Jr. about 1821, on a site now occupied by the Sir John Thompson Building. The college remained in its original home until 1940, when the building became a hostel for servicemen. Halifax Ladies' College then relocated to "Armbrae" on Oxford Street, which had been built as a twin to the Dalhousie University President's Lodge. Armbrae was demolished in 1963 to make way for a new brick structure, which has been the college's home since 1964. The original 1887 statute establishing the college was superseded by An Act to Incorporate the Governors of the Halifax Ladies' College and Conservatory of Music (SNS 1921 c. 167). The College and Conservatory remained legally joined until 1952, when the 1921 Act was amended to dissolve the union of the two institutions (SNS 1952 c. 117). In 1979, the Halifax Ladies' College became co-educational. In 1980 the name of the institution was officially changed to Armbrae Academy.