Traveling through many communities in which Acadians once made their homes and still do, the route is named after the principal character in the epic poem Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The region from Yarmouth to Halifax via the Annapolis Valley was first connected by the Dominion Atlantic Railway, which is credited with instigating the province's nascent tourism industry during the early 20th century; the DAR was titled "The Land of Evangeline Route" and the Evangeline Trail pays homage to this transport predecessor.
