Georges Island (named after

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; german: link=no, Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-ele ...

) is a glacial

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

and the largest island entirely within the harbour limits of Halifax Harbour located in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

. The Island is the location of Fort Charlotte - named after King George's wife

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. Fort Charlotte was built during

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Br ...

, a year after

Citadel Hill (Fort George) Citadel Hill is a hill that is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the English in 1749, and were referred to as Fort George—but only ...

. The island is now a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

. As of August 6, 2020, the island is open to the public on the weekends (and Fridays during peak summer season), from June until Thanksgiving weekend.

History

The island was originally named ''île à la Raquette'' which means Snowshoe Island. For a brief time, the Island was known as ''île d'Enville'', named after the leader of the great Duc d’Anville Expedition who was buried on the island for a number of years. In 1749, the island was named "George Island" after King George II, and then finally, in 1963, it was renamed "Georges Island". Upon the arrival of

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacob ...

and the outbreak of

, fortifications were established on

(1749) and Georges Island (Fort Charlotte) (1750). Acadian memorial Halifax

During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

, two thousand French sailors were imprisoned on the island after the British victory in the Battle off Cape Race, Newfoundland. During the war, Fort Charlotte was one of four forts where Acadians were imprisoned over the nine years of the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...

(the others were Fort Frederick,

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of ...

;

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

and Fort Edward). The Acadian prisoners in the vicinity of Halifax were subject to various degrees of confinement and dependence upon victualization, without the right to own land, continuously, from 1759 to 1768. According to historian Ronnie Gilles-LeBlanc there were approximately 1660 Acadians held prisoner on the island during the deportation (1755-1763), with a maximum of 600 prisoners at one time. Many Acadian men in the region were occupied with road building, fisheries, wharf building, and wood cutting, and lodged close to where they worked. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

the

84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutiona ...

were stationed at the fort to protect the harbour from American Privateers. Numerous American privateers were held prisoner in the fort throughout the war. Georges Island was part of the "Halifax Defence Complex" from the mid-18th century to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, with Citadel Hill and Fort Charlotte on the island being restored by

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

. For nearly two hundred years Georges Island was the scene of constant military activity. Tales of executions, forts and hidden tunnels surround the folklore associated with the mysterious island. It had an Island Prison Camp, a Look Out Point, an

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the desc ...

Prison camp, and a Quarantine Station. The Georges Island Lighthouse was established on the island in 1876. The original wooden tower burned in 1916 and was replaced by an octagonal concrete tower in 1917. The light was staffed until 1972 when it was automated."Georges Island Lighthouse: Later History
", Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society.

Notable prisoners

* Privateer David Ropes

Today

In March 2009, the federal government designated $3.5 million to install water, sewer and electrical services on the National Historic Site over the following year. "This would be the first step towards opening the island," said Carla Wheaton, Parks Canada cultural resource manager. "Following that, we would still need to construct visitor facilities, such as washrooms (and) possibly a visitors’ centre." For now, anyone wishing to visit must have permission from the

Canadian Government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

. Georges Island appears to have made little progress since 2009, as it has not opened to the public despite receiving funds to create a hospitable environment to open the park to the public

Georges Island is known to local fisherman to have many blueberry, blueberries and black

garter snake Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the sub ...

The island is part of Halifax Regional Municipality District 12. In addition to the ruins of Fort Charlotte, the island also contains the Georges Island Lighthouse and its keeper's dwelling. The

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

operates an unstaffed radar station commissioned in 1977. As of summer 2020, the island is open to the public on weekends (and Fridays in July and August)

The island may be visited from the second weekend in June until Thanksgiving weekend in October. Getting to the island can be done either via Ambassatours ferry from the Halifax Waterfront, CAD 26.75 per adult (includes historic site access), or private vessel, must purchase historic site access upon landing on the island, CAD 8.50 per adult.

References

Endnotes Texts
Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc. Acadians in Halifax and on Georges Island, 1755-17641
* Marshall, Dianne (2003). ''Georges Island The keep of Halifax Harbour''. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing Ltd. — goes into detail the history of the island

External links

Georges Island National Historic Site of CanadaSatellite Image of George's IslandAerial Photos of Halifax and Surrounding Area (www.avinova.ca)
{{Coord, 44, 38, 27, N, 63, 33, 35, W, name=Georges Island, region:CA-NS_type:isle_scale:10000, display=title Landforms of Halifax, Nova Scotia History of Halifax, Nova Scotia Islands of Nova Scotia Ruins in Canada National Historic Sites in Nova Scotia Conflicts in Nova Scotia Military forts in Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax County, Nova Scotia

History

Notable prisoners

Today

See also

References

External links