Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry Terminal (Halifax)

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www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/ferries.html

Ferry History

The harbour ferry service and its recognizable ferry vessels are a distinctive feature of the historic Halifax Harbour. The three ferries, christened the Dartmouth III, the Halifax III and the Woodside I, constantly criss-cross the second largest harbour in the world and have become one of the modern day icons of our region.

The ferry service also provides an important symbolic link with our community's past. In 2002, the Halifax Harbour ferry service celebrated its 250th anniversary, and it is the oldest, continuous, salt-water passenger ferry service in North America.

The "Dartmouth ferry" as it was originally known, began operation in 1752 and served as a vital link for the community of Dartmouth, which was settled a year after the larger British Military Garrison was established in Halifax. With vast farmland, woods and freshwater lakes, the Dartmouth settlers provided the Halifax garrison town with food products and ice for the many icehouses, which were used to keep food fresh. The Dartmouth ferry continued to serve as the only quick way of travelling across the harbour to Halifax until 1955, when the Angus L.Macdonald Bridge was first opened.