The Capitol Theatre was located on Barrington Street at the foot of Spring Garden Road in downtown Halifax. The Capitol wasn’t the first entertainment venue to occupy that spot. Its predecessor was a music hall, which opened in 1877, originally…

The building now known as Henry House was constructed between 1834 and 1835 for Halifax stonemason, land owner, and businessman, John Metzler. The two-and-a-half story ironstone house has notable architectural features: granite façade, raised…

Nova Scotia has produced many great rowers and paddlers over the past 150 years. The tradition began in our seaside province back in the 1800s and continues today, though now more commonly on lakes and rivers with canoes and kayaks. The most…

The 19th century in Nova Scotia was a time of legendary shipbuilders. Around the province, they conceived and constructed hundreds of wooden ships– and no one was better at the trade than Maitland-based W. D. Lawrence(1817-1886). Lawrence was born…

The Nova Scotia into which Carrie Best (née Prevoe) and Viola Desmond (née Davis) were born was a society with engrained prejudices about people of colour. There were restrictions on where Blacks could live or work and where they could get their…

The first half of the 20th century was a challenging time for indigenous peoples across Canada, including for the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia. The federal governments of the era were generally disregarding the treaties of the 18th century and…

The year was 1796, and Britain’s war with Revolutionary France continued to drag on. Fear of a French attack loomed large in Halifax. Driven by the need to defend the city, the garrison commander of Halifax, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, ordered…

Following the Second World War, the federal government sought to develop nuclear energy in Canada. The Crown Corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), was established in 1952 for nuclear energy research and development. By 1962, AECL had…

In 1888, the province purchased a farm in Bible Hill (present-day Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus) for the practical education of farming students. In 1892, the new School of Agriculture established its campus on the Provincial Farm. Six…

The building currently home to the Truro branch of the Colchester East Hants Public Library was originally a teacher training school – the Provincial Normal School, which later changed its name to the Provincial Normal College (1909) and then the…