Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River which, downstream from Kentville, becomes a large tidal river at the Minas Basin. The riverbank at the current location of Kentville provided an easy fording point. The Mi'kmaq name for the location was "Penooek". The ford and later the bridge in Kentville made the area an important crossroads for other settlements in the Annapolis Valley. Kentville also marked the limit of navigation of sailing ships.