Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. With a population of 8,532 as of 2016, Bridgewater is the largest town in the South Shore region.Priding itself as "The Main Street of the South Shore," Bridgewater has long been established as the primary commercial and professional service centre in the southern half of the province. The community boasts a diverse local economy, as well as larger national and international employers, including a Michelin tire plant.HistoryFoundingThe first European settlers of the town came from the nearby settlements of Lunenburg, Riverport and LaHave, constructing the first house around 1810 on the west bank of the river (although the first house in what is now the town was built before 1803).The town was named after the bridge built over the LaHave River. The commissioners for the construction of the first bridge were three brothers-in-law, George Heb, John Weil and John Vienot.The town was incorporated on February 13, 1899, one month after the Great Commercial Street Fire, which devastated the downtown core of the community, destroying buildings along both sides of what would become King Street for more than half a kilometre. The fire, which occurred on the night of January 12, 1899, is believed to have begun in the basement of the old music hall, located at what would, today, be the intersection of King and Dominion Streets.