Nova Scotia
Recent Articles
Old Burying Ground and Welsford-Parker Monument
Established in 1749, the same year Halifax was founded as a British settlement, the Old Burying Ground served the community until 1844. Originally located outside the fortified town, it became the resting place of people from different religious denominations. Today, its enclosed grounds preserve a chapter of early Halifax within the surrounding downtown streets. More […]
Halifax Court House
On Spring Garden Road in downtown Halifax, the Halifax Court House presents an imposing sandstone façade built to express the dignity and authority of the law. Designed by the Toronto architectural firm of William Thomas and Sons in 1858, the building housed county and provincial courts following its completion in 1863. Its importance to Canada’s […]
Halifax Public Gardens
The Halifax Public Gardens preserve a rare example of a Victorian public garden in the heart of a modern city. Across approximately sixteen acres, winding gravel paths connect carefully maintained lawns, ornamental flower beds, mature trees, and water features. The landscape was designed for leisurely walking and close observation, offering opportunities to appreciate both individual […]
Province House
Province House has been the home of Nova Scotia’s legislature since its official opening on February 11, 1819. As Canada’s oldest legislative building, it preserves more than two centuries of parliamentary history within a structure still serving its original purpose. Its construction gave the province’s elected Assembly a permanent home after decades in temporary accommodations. […]
Joseph Howe Monument
The Joseph Howe monument honors a Halifax-born journalist and political reformer whose work helped shape Canadian public life. Created by sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert and erected in 1904, the bronze figure portrays Howe standing with one arm extended, recalling his reputation as a persuasive public speaker. His name is carved into the tall stone pedestal beneath […]
St. John’s Anglican Church
With its white wooden walls, red roof, and slender corner spire, St. John’s Anglican Church stands above the rocky landscape of Peggy’s Cove. The building’s Gothic Revival design gives it a distinctive presence within the small fishing community. Its history reaches beyond the present structure to the residents who worked together to establish a place […]
Written in Granite
The exposed granite along Peggy’s Cove’s coast holds evidence of events separated by hundreds of millions of years. Its broad, rounded surfaces, deep fractures, and scattered boulders record the formation of rock beneath an ancient mountain range and the much later passage of glaciers. Understanding these features turns the shoreline into a visible record of […]
Fairview Lawn Cemetery
Some places become part of history not because events happened there, but because they answered history’s call when tragedy struck. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is one of those places. When RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank shortly before midnight on April 14–15, 1912, more than 1,500 people lost their lives in the icy […]
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site
One of the highlights of our drive around Cape Breton Island was visiting the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. As we crossed the wooden drawbridge and passed through the King’s Gate, it felt as though we were leaving the twenty-first century behind and stepping into the world of eighteenth-century French North America. The Fortress […]
Thinkers’ Lodge
As we started our road trip home from Halifax, Marty and I decided to get off the main road and make our way to the small village of Pugwash, Nova Scotia. We had never heard of Pugwash, nor did we know anything about the remarkable events that had taken place there. What we found was […]
Sir Winston Churchill
It was one rainy Halifax afternoon when this familiar figure appeared through the mist. Standing outside the former Halifax Memorial Library is a bronze statue of Sir Winston Churchill, his hands clasped behind his back, his head slightly lowered, as though he is deep in thought. It is a fitting pose for a man whose […]
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site
On our family vacation to Nova Scotia, we visited the Fortress of Louisbourg, one of Canada’s most important National Historic Sites. Having spent so much time exploring the history of New England, it was interesting to learn about the French side of North American history and their determined efforts to maintain control of their colonial possessions. […]
