Exploring McNabs Island, Nova Scotia

You’ve all seen it. Staring at Halifax. Full of mystery, and certainly packed with history.

Yes, I’m talking about one of the few islands in the harbour, McNabs. McNabs Island is the largest of the four islands in Halifax Harbour and is a provincial park. The other three islands are Lawlor’s Island, Devil’s Island, and George’s Island. Of the four, McNabs is the only which visitors are currently allowed regularly, though they need to arrange their own transportation.

I had been looking back at McNabs Island for quite some time. I had heard of a quarantine, cholera deaths, old forts, houses, fairs and factories which were located on the Island in different points of its history. This, combined with my obvious love for history and growing interest in hiking, made me dream about a trip to its shores. My desire became a reality when a trip was booked to the Island as a birthday present from my partner.

Seagull at Point Pleasant park with McNabs Island visible in the background. — One of the many times I’ve looked out at McNabs Island

Our trip to the Island

It was a crisp, cool Autumn Saturday when myself and my partner drove to Fisherman’s Cove, where a boating service charges $20/ person to chauffeur a group of visitors over. Pick up time is a few hours later on the other end of the island. Payment methods accepted include cash and the square (debit and credit card). Captain Mike made sure that we all had maps, and gave us an explanation of the map, history of the island and landmarks he recommended we stop to see. I had also brought my own map, which slightly differed from the printout that Mike had given each group of passengers.

(Here’s a link to my recommended map. Click the enlarge button on the bottom of the page: https://mcnabsisland.ca/island-map)

Based on the tide levels, Mike decided to drop us off at the dock on the side closer to the bridges, called Ives Cove. He planned to pick us up later at the dock by Drakes Gut, which faces Lawlor Island and the Dartmouth side of the harbour. From the Dartmouth side, the boat drive to the west tip of the Island was about about 15 minutes, much longer than the ride back. Given the wind on the water and the waves splashing in our hair, I would highly suggest hats, gloves, and a rain jacket or wind breaker in any season.

As we pulled closer to McNabs, piney greens, brunt oranges and stressed reds popped as the leaves had long ago changed colour and were starting to shrivel from their trees in late October. Through the collage of trees stood an old house, our first sign of humanity.

We got off the narrow boat onto a wooden dock, which seemed to have an old trailer and some scraps around it. The group was told to walk up the path into the trees to begin the highlighted journey on the map.

Houses on McNabs Island

Reaching the top of the hill, there was a fork in the road. To the left, there was an overgrown road which had several houses on it. A path extended from there in a direction which would lead us astray from the main road we were supposed to follow. On the right, an old stone fort could easily be seen. What we decided to do was visit the houses, then turn around and continue to the fort. Past the fort was the path that would lead us down the island to other prominent landmarks.

Three houses awaited us down this road. The first is a two story, abandoned yet pleasant suburban house. The picturesque house had not been a home for a long time. The doors were locked and likely sealed up, windows were difficult to look into, and any way of entering any of the houses had been boarded up. I was surprised that power lines were still hooked to each of the houses. Small glances into windows gave guesstimates of when each house was last lived in, decked with furnishings and appliances you’d find at a vintage store. The first house pictured below is the Conrad House, which was originally built as a summer house of A.J. Davis. He owned a pop factory on the island, living in the house during the summers. The house is named the Conrad House after its last resident, Gladys Conrad.

The Conrad house on McNabs Island. — The Conrad (Davis) House

Another of the three houses is the Matthew Lynch House, where Bill Lynch grew up. The brother of Gladys Conrad, Bill Lynch became well known in the Halifax area for the fair’s that he would host on McNabs Island, earning himself the nickname “The Mid-way King”.

The house pictured below is the Jack Lynch house, and features a beautiful stone chimney. It appears as though the house has a security camera. I did not notice these elsewhere, but likely exist to protect the provincial park.

The Jack Lynch house on McNabs Island. — The Jack Lynch House

In my mind, I had assumed that McNabs was full of residential homes that could be glared upon and explored. Though there were fewer houses surviving on the Island than I expected, they were fascinating to see in person. It is unfortunate nonetheless that a project to restore and maintain the exterior, if not also the interior of these homes, has not yet been completed (see CBC article “McNabs Island’s crumbling historic houses deserve to be saved, guide says” in Sources).

Fort Ives

Next we moved onto Fort Ives, which is one of two Forts on McNabs. The end of the island that faces out into the harbour and the one that faces the interior both have forts built as part of a protection plan for Halifax. Fort Ives was commissioned in 1864, and finished in the following years. Seeing multiple updates through its history, including during the First World War, it was eventually decommissioned in 1942 as defenses were moved elsewhere halfway through the Second World War.

Fort Ives is fun to explore, with wide open spaces, multiple sections to climb or peer into and discover. At the site there are old canons, clearly setting the scene to imagine the experience of serving at the Fort as a soldier.

Seth at Fort Ives on McNabs Island. — Fort Ives

By then, we were ready to get started on the path. Even when travelling between landmarks, McNabs is an enjoyable journey with lovely plant life. Most of the paths have a view of the ocean.

Plants on McNabs Island. — Gorgeous flora covers McNabs Island

Cholera Cemetery

Our next stop was a bit more of a walk, to a hill on an edge of the Island. Here we arrived at the cemetery for those who died of cholera.

In 1866, a Cunard ship called the SS England had to stop in Halifax on its way to New York from England because of a cholera outbreak. Knowing how deadly the disease was, the passengers were sent to McNabs Island to be quarantined from the mainland. Due to the lack of resources provided to the Island, tensions and exclusion emerged between those who were still well or had healthy friends, and those who were sick and alone. Out of about 800 people who were on the Island, an estimated 200 died due to the cholera outbreak. This included Dr. Slayter, the Port Health Officer, who was the last to contract the disease on McNabs during this outbreak.

After plans to use the southern half of the island for military infrastructure were laid, the quarantine buildings were moved to Lawlor’s Island.

Cholera gravesite on McNab's Island. — Cholera Victim’s Gravesite

A sad spot to walk through anytime of year, the lack of leaves in Fall made the site look especially eerie.

Teahouse

After an hour or so of walking and the fact that we had gone to the Island later in the day, we started to get hungry. We decided to eat lunch where the Teahouse was located. It was a bit up the hill from the path but would give us a good view of the water and a nice, open spot to munch.

It took us a minute to decipher the map, but we made it to the Teahouse. To our surprise, the roof of the Teahouse seemed to be in the middle of renovations (See CBC article “After sitting abandoned for 25 years, McNabs Island Teahouse gets facelift” in Sources) . This old structure made of stone had a modern roof, with skylight windows installed. We did not know about the project before arriving, and it was nice to see that at least one building was seeing changes that would help preserve history.

The Teahouse on McNab's Island. — The Teahouse, which is planned to be opened as an Interpretative Centre in 2020

Hugonin Perrin House

After sitting down to eat our packed lunch, we took another look at the map. We had heard of an old house, the Hugonin Perrin House, and wanted to see if we could find any remains of it. The house is said to have “mysteriously” burnt down in 1948. The black and white map, which we were thankful to have, also had a very crowded design and it was difficult to see exactly where a landmark was in closer areas. We wasted some time being confused about which turn or path to take. Ultimately, we think we found the site and then tried to make up for lost time by hurrying back to the main path.

Interpretative panels

On our way to the next location, we came across a Gazebo with benches, tables, and interpretative panels about the Island’s history. They were well detailed, and also featured a higher quality map (the one linked above). We took a picture of this map, which helped guide us through the rest of the Island.

Nature and the beach

Walking along the coast led us to see a few different physical features of McNabs. Besides the plant life and great views of the ocean, there were also multiple beaches that we walked along. The first we had seen shortly after the Cholera Graveyard and was very rocky. The second was sandy. Both had a surprisingly low amount of trash, likely due to the efforts of the Friends of McNabs Society. We did however find some interesting things which had washed up ashore, including a chair which had been split into two different halves and dug itself into the sand.

A washed up chair on a beach on McNab's Island. — A washed up chair

The other half of the washed up chair on McNab's Island. — The other half of the chair

The Island also has multiple ponds. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a range of environments on the Island. We also witnessed some wildlife, including a few different birds and squirrels we spotted in trees.

Lighthouse

Another large landmark on the Island is the lighthouse. Though the lighthouse is not accessible to walk up to, it can be seen both in the distance from the Cholera Graveyard and much closer at the beach.

Our few hours visit featured a variety of weather. The trip over on the boat was cold and overcast. Most of the trip was somewhat warm with the cool but not cold Fall weather. I alternated between wearing my jacket and just sticking with a flannel sweater. By the time we reached the beach, it was quite rainy and cold. We experienced some pockets of sunshine after that, but most of the rest of the time on the Island was quite chilly given the rain and wind. Again, I can’t stress enough that you should wear layers and bring a hat, gloves and probably a scarf. Even if the day looks warm, just the boat ride alone can be cold.

Fort McNab

By the time we passed the beach and large pond, we were low on time before we had to meet at the pick up location. We still wanted to visit Fort McNab and the graveyard nearby. We rushed through the woods and Fort McNab was quite easy to find. Fort McNab was finished in 1892, built to protect the British Navy. The site saw many updates up until 1953 and then decommissioned in 1959. There is a lot less open space than at Fort Ives, though rooms and buildings could be climbed into. As the Fort is quite high up, it is a great spot to take some photos.

View of the mainland from Fort McNab on McNab's Island. — View of the mainland from Fort McNab

With only around 20 minutes before our pickup time, we wanted to take a peak at the cemetery. This again proved difficult because on both maps we had brought of the island, the area was unclear. The map we took a picture of helped clear this up, and we found the small sideroad that led to the gravesite.

Cemetery

When we approached the gravesite, I was a tiny bit disappointed. The whole graveyard was surrounded by a tall, metal fence. The door was locked. There was no way of getting into the graveyard. We were far enough away that it was difficult to read any of the headstones. While I was disappointed that I couldn’t inspect the area further, I understand why a locked fence may be necessary for a graveyard on McNabs Island. Those who were interested in grave robbing or otherwise disrespecting the dead could easily do so unmonitored on the Island, with little to no way to solve the crime. Fixing grave sites would require even more efforts and funding than for a gravestone on the mainland. Plus, these gravestones are historically important, and the descendants or province should be able to take the steps needed to preserve these sites.

After we saw the gravesite, we made our way to the meeting point. We arrived at a beach where we would board the boat when it arrived. We sat at the edges of the trees, trying to keep warm as the rain had returned. Some of the party continued down the trail, which winded into the woods and led further down the Island, though we were told there was not a lot of infrastructure past Fort McNab.

Final Thoughts

Our drive arrived, we boarded the boat and got a decent view of Lawlor Island as we headed back to Fisherman’s Cove.

McNabs Island certainly lived up to a lot of my expectations. The Island was larger than I could have imagined, with a variety of environments to explore. Being able to go into the Forts and see the Teahouse being renovated were unexpected.

In other ways, we encountered situations that I did not expect or found a tad disappointing. The houses are in declining condition, and there are only a few of them left. The lighthouse and the graveyard cannot be viewed up close. Though there was minimal litter, it is always discouraging to see what pollution is doing to our beaches and oceans.

As historians, we also must look at what is not present or that we have missed to gain a rounded understanding of any topic. McNabs Island has a long and rich pre-colonization history. The Island is part of Mi’kma’ki, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. Evidence has been found that indigenous groups used the Island for seasonal hunting and fishing, but unfortunately not much of this history is seen on the Island today.

Another aspect of McNabs history that is not as visible today is the Bill Lynch Show. The “Mid-Way King” started his carnival on McNabs Island with just one merry-go-round. By the 1940’s his carnival had become the largest in Canada. From one ride, Lynch transformed his business into a nationally traveling circus with a ferris wheel, various performers and animals which fit into 27 railway carts.

Bill Lynch Shows poster for his Greater Exposition on McNab's Island. — Fun Fact: This “Bill Lynch Shows” poster can be seen at the Oxford Taproom

There are still parts of McNabs Island that remain unexplored by my eyes. The location of the Soda Pop Factory is certainly on my list for my next visit. There are some batteries/ other military sites that we did not see or skimmed over. I would also like to venture some of the paths more inland/ off the main trails, which largely cover the northern and most eastern parts of the Island. I’ll be doing even more reading about the Island before my next visit, so I have more treasures to share with you all.

To me, McNabs Island still remains a bit of an enigma. I can now stare back at the Island knowing more about its history from hands on experience. Once the weather warms up, I hope you all will take the opportunity to visit McNabs Island, and unravel some of the mystery for yourselves!

Safe travels,

Kirby

George’s Island is now accessible for the public to visit! All the information you need to know for your visit are covered in my post on George’s Island!