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North End Halifax Heritage

The North End Halifax Business District if full of history! Click on the images below to learn about North End Halifax's heritage

"The African Nova Scotian community in Halifax found strength, healing, and collective identity in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church, located at the corner of Falkland and Gottingen Streets for over 100 years. As a source of resilience and spirituality for the community, the AME Zion Church is a significant representation of the religious and cultural heritage of African Nova Scotians in Halifax, assisting the community in coping and dealing with racism and discrimination." (Read more here: https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/diversity-inclusion/african-nova-scotian-affairs/recognizing-african-methodist )

The historic place was the residence of Charles F. DeWolf (ca.1838-1885), a prominent Halifax shipping agent. DeWolf is thought to have begun work in 1864 in Halifax for his fathers company T.A.S DeWolf and Son and shortly thereafter his house was built around 1869-1879. Born in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Charles F. DeWolf was son of Thomas DeWolf and great-grandson of Nathan Dewolf who settled there in 1761. DeWolf was recognized for being active in the business community, advocating Halifax as a winter port and was considered responsible for securing a grain elevator and deep water terminus in Halifax. A steward in the Brunswick Street Methodist Church, Charles F. DeWolf was held in high regard during his life in Halifax. (https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=1545)

Churchfield Barracks are valued for their association with the British Army in Halifax at the turn of the twentieth century. These residential buildings were built by the British as barracks and were completed in 1903. At one time the army garrison church was located where Trinity Church now stands and the barracks became locally known as the ‘Churchfield Barracks.’ They were first listed in the Halifax City Directory in 1902 as the "New Military Barracks" on the garrison chapel grounds. They are also locally known as the Twelve Apostles.

Architecturally, Churchfield Barracks valued as a good example Gothic Revival style and is unique within Nova Scotia. The units feature steeply pitched gabled roofs with covered porch entrances that provide shelter and easy run off of rain and snow. Each unit features a gabled Gothic style dormer and an enclosed porch with a small window. As well each unit has a segmental window on the first storey with radiating voussoir and sandstone window sill. This twelve unit row house provides a tangible link with the city’s significant military past. (https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=4122)

Registered Heritage Property built in 1878.
"The house was built in 1878 for J. Wesley Smith, a lay Methodist missionary and merchant in the city. Smith provided the funds to build the J. Wesley Smith Methodist/United Church on Robie Street.' (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/600ee7283c156d341b580063/t/60b143a657711c50ef86cef2/1622229959157/Griffin-Vol22%281%29-Mar1997.pdf)

The H.R. Silver House, an HRM Registered Heritage Property, is now home to The Narrows Public House.

"Originally, it was the home of Hugh Russell Silver, a Lunenburg-born merchant who was instrumental in financing the construction of the Bluenose and the Lord Nelson Hotel (of which he was the first acting president). He also commissioned the building of a schooner, the H.R. Silver (the house acquired its heritage designation as the H.R. Silver House). It housed other families and served different functions but operated as a Bed & Breakfast for 29 years." (Read more: https://www.curatedmagazine.ca/home/the-narrows-public-house)

The Halifax Armoury is a distinctive landmark situated in north central Halifax, it is a huge structure designed in a weighty Romanesque Revival Style and built of red rough faced sandstone. The principle façade is distinguished by its troop door surrounded by a large round arched window and flanked by conical topped stairtowers. Its distinguishing interior feature is its large unobstructed drill hall space. Exterior decorative details include carved stonework, string courses, corbelled banding, deeply set windows and heavy mullions with wide voussoirs set above. The Armoury creates a visually prominent silhouette in the neighbourhood. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building. (https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3160&pid=0)

Originally from Trinidad, Dr. Clement Ligoure graduated in 1916 with a medical degree from Queen's University, in Kingston, Ont. He would later become editor of Nova Scotia's first Black newspaper, the Atlantic Advocate.
Ligoure established a private clinic inside his home in the north end of Halifax after he was denied hospital privileges.
On Dec. 6, 1917, a collision in Halifax harbour between two wartime ships caused a massive blast that killed almost 2,000 people and injured another 9,000.
In the weeks that followed, Ligoure worked night and day at the clinic and in the city's devastated streets, treating hundreds of blast victims. (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/clement-ligoure-house-halifax-heritage-property-1.6724603)

The Little Dutch ("Deutsch") Church is the oldest Lutheran church in Canada. Bought as a log house in 1756 by German settlers, the building was extended and given a steeple for its consecration in 1761. Notable features onsite are the burying ground and the mass grave beneath the church. (https://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/the-little-dutch-church/6047)

The museum aims to foster an understanding of the rich and dynamic history of the Royal Canadian Navy. Spanning from the foundation of the RCN in 1910 into its more modern configuration, the museum strives to inspire curiosity about, and to celebrate, the contributions of those who have served. The museum is housed in Admiralty House, a 200-year-old building that is a designated National Historic Site. ( https://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/naval-museum-of-halifax-formerly-maritime-command-museum/1337 )

2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the installation of the sculpture North is Freedom in Halifax. Commissioned in 2006 as an initiative to provide a public art compliment to the redesign of the North Branch Memorial Library’s entry plaza, the corten steel sculpture is inscribed with an original poem by noted poet, author, and playwright George Elliott Clarke. The monolith also features two young figures (a third stands atop the library itself), ascending the face of the sculpture. The figures were cast by the artists with the willing participation of several local youth. (https://www.halifax.ca/parks-recreation/arts-culture-heritage/public-art-projects#:~:text=North%20is%20Freedom,-2017%20marks%20the&text=Commissioned%20in%202006%20as%20an,and%20playwright%20George%20Elliott%20Clarke.)

Built in 1800 to accommodate the growing population of the Little Dutch Church, Saint George's is a cylindrical, wooden church designed in the Palladian style thanks to the architectural taste of Edward, Duke of Kent. (https://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/st-georges-round-church/6046)

In the early 1880s, the Irish Catholic faithful of Halifax's north end felt a new St Patrick’s Church was needed to serve their comunity. The cornerstone was laid on August 8, 1883 by Archbishop Cornelius O'Brien, Halifax's first Canadian-born archbishop. The cornerstone contains copies of the constitution of the Charitable Irish Society of Halifax. Cornelius O'Brien took a very active role to hasten the new church along. He was also destined to become a key builder of Saint Mary's University.

Funds for St. Patrick's came from merchants, labourers, professionals, the general public, and others. Those who could not give large amounts for the building gave 25 cents per month. Those who could not give a donation gave their time, so there was ample manpower at the construction site.
In August, 1883, the Catholic ladies of Halifax held a Grand Bazaar on Spring Garden Road, next to the Court House. Over 10 days, 15,000 people visited the fair, and a profit of $17,000 was realized for the church building fund.

The building had progressed so well that the Morning Herald of December 18, 1883 states: "Never during any previous building operation in the city, was so much accomplished in so short a time." This was due to three reasons: (1) The builder, Henry Peters, planned ahead and had materials on site when needed; (2) Archbishop Cornelius O'Brien visited the site every day, week in week out, to make sure the job got done; (3) The parishioners gave freely of their time, in whatever way they could, to see their new church take shape. (https://www.saintpatrickschurch.ca/about)

St. Mark’s Church is valued for its association with the military history of Halifax, with the Halifax Explosion, and for its Gothic Revival architecture.

Since its founding, Halifax has been the host to a large military presence and for much of that time the Anglican Church was the official church of the garrison. St. Mark's Church was founded in 1866 and later given the status of being the garrison church of the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal Canadian Navy. Between 1920 to 1970 the church was enlarged three times to accommodate the growing armed forces presence in the city. Each Sunday military parades marched from Wellington Barracks and the Dockyard to St. Mark's Church.

On December 6, 1917 two ships, one carrying explosives, collided in the section known as the Narrows of the Halifax Harbour. The resulting explosion devastated much of the North End of Halifax, flattening wooden buildings on either side of the Narrows, including the original wood framed St. Mark’s Church. Those buildings that were not destroyed by the force of the explosion were destroyed by fires caused by overturned stoves. The Explosion killed 1600 people, including seventy-percent of St. Mark’s parishioners, and wounded 9000. The Explosion also caused roughly thirty-five million dollars damage. The Halifax Relief Commission was established to deal with the tragedy and its aftermath. St. Mark's Church was rebuilt during the massive reconstruction on the North End of Halifax and reopened in 1920.

The new St. Mark's Church was constructed using brick in the Gothic Revival style. This style is easily recognized and is the typical of church buildings constructed since the mid-nineteenth century. Gothic Revival style is seen in the flanking towers, gothic round headed windows, and a large rose window on the east façade. The building stands out on the corner and commands presence in the neighbourhood. It continues to serve the North End Anglican community. (https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3826)

Almost everyone who lives in Halifax knows of these four homes. They’re called the Four Sister Houses. At the turn of the last century a ship's captain built them for his four daughters (or so they say). The colours of these salt box homes change every so often but they remain a colourful part of the city’s history. (https://michellesaintonge.com/products/four-sisters#:~:text=Almost%20everyone%20who%20lives%20in,part%20of%20the%20city's%20history.)

The Victoria Hall Society is a private, non-profit charity founded in 1860 by Isabella Cogswell, Charlotte Lawson, and Jane Liddell who saw a need for providing women of little financial means a place they could call home. Originally called “The Home for the Aged”, the Victoria Hall Society has seen many changes since its inception. From humble beginnings in a rented house to the acquisition of its own residence in 1863 on Gottingen Street, Victoria Hall has been home to nearly 1000 women. (https://victoriahall.ca/)

Contact us:

info@gonorthhalifax.com

902-456-3842
216-2099 Gottingen St.

Halifax, N.S. B3K 3B2

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