Cambridge Military Library Halifax Nova Scotia

Cambridge Military Library is a public library building in Royal Artillery Park in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 ...

, Canada which was created in 1886. The building was created to house the garrison library collection, which had been moved from various locations in the city since its creation in 1817. It is the oldest library collection in Atlantic Canada. (When the library was established, there were still no bookstores in the region.) This building was the social and literary centre of military Halifax. In 1902, the officers of the garrison requested the library be named after the

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...

History

Along with Dalhousie College, Lord Dalhousie established the book collection with the Castine Fund, established from the fortune taken from

New Ireland (Maine) New Ireland was a Crown colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain twice established in modern-day Maine after British forces captured the area during the American Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812. The colony lasted four years d ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

. Dalhousie housed the collection in a building adjacent to the Glacis Barracks. It was later moved to Water Street before being re-established in its current location. The original membership of the library in 1818 included: *Col.

Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres (22 November 1721 or April–May 1729 – 24 or 27 October 1824) was a Canadian cartographer who served in the Seven Years' War, as the aide-de-camp to General James Wolfe. He later went on to serve as the Li ...

* Oliver Goldsmith (Canadian poet) *Sir

George Head Sir George Head (1782–1855) was an English commissariat officer and deputy Knight Marshal, also known for the publication 'A Home Tour through the Manufacturing Districts of England in the Summer of 1835', and other literary works. Biography ...

*Sir Howard Douglas *John Frederick Fitzgerald de Roos *Captain William Moorsom By 1835, the library included the best works published in the English language. In the 1860s the library holdings were considerably augmented by a very valuable collection of books transferred from Corfu, which originated from the Garrison Library at

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in 1810. By 1886, by the time the Cambridge Military Library was built, the library collection totaled 3,000 volumes.

Commemoration

Cambridge Military Library Plaque Halifax Nova Scotia

On October 29, 1934 a tablet was unveiled by Lt. Gov. Walter Harold Covert. The historic importance of the library is reflected in those who attended the ceremony: * Premier Angus MacDonald *Halifax Mayor Edward Joseph Cragg * Chief Justice Gordon Harrington * Frank Patterson, * Dr. Carleton Stanley *

Harry Piers Harry Piers (1870–1940) was a Canadian historian. He was a long-serving and influential historian and curator at the Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Piers was born on February 12, 1870, in Halifax. He became the second curator ...

* Commander Leonard W. Murray *Mr. D.C. Harvey * Frederick Henry Sexton *Colonel Eaton (Annapolis) *General Foster (Kentville) *Brigadier General Halfdan Hertzberg *Lt. Col. H.T. Goodeve * Band of the Princess Louise Fusiliers

References

Sources

* Shirley Elliott. A library for the garrison and town: A history of the Cambridge Military Library, Royal Military Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wolfville, Nova Scotia. 1989.
Cambridge Military Library Royal Artillery Park of Halifax NS and GOC Residence
* Early Libraries In Halifax, by Karen Smith; NSHS, Journal #7 (2004); pp. 15.
Rules and catalogue of the Halifax Garrison Library: with a list of the subscribers. 1835

History

Commemoration

See also

References

Sources

See also