Inverness is a Canadian rural community in Inverness County, Nova Scotia. It is south from Cape Breton Highlands National Park. In 2011 its population was 1,387, down 5.3% from 2006.HistoryLocated on the west coast of Cape Breton Island fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Inverness sits astride a small coal seam which was exploited from the late 19th century to the mid-late 20th century, beginning with a mine opened by William Mackenzie and Donald Mann during the 1890s after they achieved control of the Inverness and Richmond Railway. Several more mines opened in and near Inverness during the early 20th century, but many closed following World War II with the last one closing in the early 1990s following a fire.The community was incorporated as a town in 1904. It experienced economic hardship since large scale industrial coal mining ended; the local economy is now based mainly on fishing and tourism. Inverness Raceway was established in 1926, and harness races are held twice weekly between May and October. North America's only true links golf course, the (200acre) Cabot Links is located on the former coal mine and overlooks the beaches.