Fort Needham Memorial Park (Halifax) | explosion site, place with historical importance, fortification

 park, explosion site, place with historical importance, fortification

Fort Needham (1776 - 1917), Halifax
A small pentagonal earthwork with two guns and barracks for 50 men, built as a defence for the Royal Dockyard. It was rebuilt in 1807, with four 12-pounder guns, over the site of the original fort. A blockhouse was built in 1808. It was destroyed by 1820. The Narrows Battery was erected just northeast in 1807, at the Narrows, with a small blockhouse behind it.

The barracks here were completely destroyed on December 6, 1917 in "The Halifax Explosion", the largest man-made explosion in the pre-nuclear age. A French ammunition ship collided with a Norwegian freighter, and the resulting shockwave of the explosion shattered windows at least 50 miles away, killing over 1900 people instantly, with another 9000 people injured. 325 acres were completely leveled.

Site of the Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower.

www.northamericanforts.com/Canada/ns2.html