Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
1895 - Halifax

Halifax, a city and seaport, capital of Nova Scotia, on the S. coast of that peninsula, nearly equidistant from its N.E. and S.W. extremities, in lat. 45° N., lon. 83°35': It is situated on the W. side of Chebucto Bay, now called Halifax Harbor. The streets are spacious and cross one another at right angles. Many of the houses are of wood, plastered and stuccoed, but many also are built of stone. The city has 24 churches (including a Church of England cathedral and a Roman Catholic cathedral), a large number of school-houses, some of which are elegantly built structures, 6 banks, 2 branch banks and a savings-bank, a city and a county court-house, a jail, a penitentiary, markets, 2 or 3 public halls, 2 large and handsome provincial buildings, 3 club-houses, 3 colleges, 2 barracks, 3 hospitals (city, military, and naval), a poor's asylum, an asylum for the blind, about 20 hotels, a large number of stores, and manufactories of iron castings, machinery of every description, agricultural implements, nails, pails, fuse, gunpowder, cord age, boots and shoes, soap and candles, leather, tobacco, sale; and the parish church, a fine structure of the fifteenth paper, cotton and woollen goods, wooden ware, &c., also a sugar-refinery, distilleries, and breweries. At the N. end of the city is a large royal dock-yard, covering 14 acres, one of the finest in the British colonies. The harbor is 6 miles long, by about a mile in width; there is excellent anchorage in every part of it, and at the N. end it is connected by a narrow arm with Bedford Basin, 6 miles by 4 in size, capable of containing all the navies of the world. Halifax is protected by 11 different fortifications, and is the chief naval station of British North America.

The city of Halifax is governed by a mayor and alder man, assisted by a stipendiary magistrate and 40 policemen. The streets are lighted with gas, and the houses supplied with gas and water. The city has extensive steam communication with various parts of the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the United States, the West Indies, and Great Britain. Railway lines connect it with Pictou, Annapolis, St. John, the United States, and the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Halifax is the southeastern terminus of the Intercolonial Railway. There are owned here over 100 square-rigged vessels, and many schooners.

The city sends two members to the House of Commons and two to the provincial legislature. It is the seat of the Anglican bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and of the Catholic archbishop of Halifax. Fifteen news papers are issued in the city, 4 of which are daily.

Halifax was originally called Chedabucto or Chebucto, but in 1749, when it was proclaimed the capital of Acadia, it received its present name. In 1790 it contained 700 houses and 4000 inhabitants; in 1828, 1580 houses and 14,439 inhabitants; and in 1871, 4326 houses and 29,582 inhabitants; in 1881, 36,100; in 1891, 38,556.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

Visit Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.