Phase I - Halifax Regional Municipality

Archaeological Resource Impact Assessment
Pre-development Assessment
Spring Garden Road/Queen Street Public Lands Plan
“handsome railing” would be added. 28 Gravelled walks and benches would be added, and
trees had been planted a while ago. For this work, $2000 would need to be raised.
The plans of the Board of Commissioners does not seem to have been made a reality until
ten years later. In 1883 the Morning Herald reported, “The old poor’s burying ground
[…] is at last to be converted into a public park. The doubts respecting the title have been
set at rest and the local government has granted it to the city on condition that it shall be
maintained forever as an open square. It is understood that some public spirited citizens
intend to solicit subscriptions, and have the ground opened up at once. The old stone wall
will be torn down and replaced by a neat iron railing.” 29
One possible architect or planner for the park at this time was E. H. Keating, known for
his designs of many exhibition ground structures at the time. His plan includes an
elaborate walkway system (Figure 3.2.2-3), which appears to have been only partially put
in place, and designs for an iron fence and lanterns (Figure 3.2.2-4).
To what extent Keating’s Plan was used is not known. By 1921, as seen in an early aerial
photograph (Plate 9), only a few simple paths can be seen. Other than some trees, the
only thing occupying the land is the engine house noted as early as 1878 on Hopkin’s
Atlas. 30 A plan of the park from 1934 confirms that only a few simple paths crisscrossed
the park in the early 20 th century (Figure 3.2.2-5).
By the time the Halifax Memorial Library was constructed, the significance of the land as
a cemetery seems to have faded. The Library was opened on November 12 th , 1951.
Newspaper articles discussing the opening of the building made no mention of the park’s
former life as a cemetery. The media refers to the cemetery as “historic Grafton Park,”
and further states: “Already landscaped, the park in which the library stands has been
enclosed with a stone wall, and the old benches have been put back so that Haligonians
can still sit under the trees.” 31
Don Crowdis, who was the chairman of the committee to construct the library, confirmed
that the land was no longer known as a cemetery, expressing surprise when he learned of
its previous use. 32 He recalled that the city council had given permission to construct the
library in Grafton Park after his committee had gained the financial support of thirty to
forty businesses and sponsors for the project. He also mentioned that the paved walkways
in the park were moved southeast before construction plans were finalized to make room
for the building.
28 Acadian Recorder, 20 June 1872 p. 3 col. 1
29 Morning Herald, 5 October 1883 p. 3 col. 1
30 Hopkins, H.W., 1878. Hopkin’s Land Use Atlas for Halifax City. NSARM Microfilm Collection #958.
31 Mail-Star, 2 November 1951, p. 2
32 Don Crowdis, personal communication, 19 January 2009.
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