Why go
Citadel Hill and the Narrows represent very different parts of Halifax’s past: the building of a colonial military town and the risks of a busy wartime port. Connecting them gives the harbour greater meaning than a scenic backdrop, while the region’s later amalgamation explains why Halifax now includes many distinct communities.
The full story
British Halifax was established in 1749, and the colonial capital moved there from Annapolis Royal. This was not the beginning of the region’s human history. The settlement violated earlier treaties with the Mi’kmaq and helped trigger Father Le Loutre’s War. Fortifications at Citadel Hill, Bedford, Dartmouth and Lawrencetown formed part of Britain’s expansion through the region. The harbour remained central to Halifax’s fortunes and dangers. In December 1917, the munitions ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with SS Imo in the Narrows between the upper harbour and Bedford Basin. The resulting Halifax Explosion devastated the Richmond district, killing approximately two thousand people and injuring thousands more. That disaster belongs to the working-port story as much as the city’s military landmarks do. Modern Halifax covers a much larger territory than the original town. In 1996, Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Halifax County were amalgamated into the Halifax Regional Municipality. Their shared administration does not erase their different histories. When exploring the harbour, keep those individual communities and the earlier Indigenous presence in view.