Halifax Gold

Halifax streets may not be paved with gold but some have gold under them!
 
In the 1800s prospecting on peninsular Halifax found quartz veins containing small amounts of gold:
 
• A 3-inch wide vein near the corner of Oxford Street and Quinpool Road.
• A 2-inch vein on Louisburg Street between Shirley and Linden streets. (The name Louisburg Street no longer exists but it’s shown on the 1890 map below near Camp Hill. It may have been an earlier name for either Garden or Vernon streets but the area has changed so much that it’s hard to be sure.)
• A vein between Pepperell and Shirley streets just east of Preston Street.
 
Gold was also found between Lockman and Upper Water streets, south of North street. (Barrington Street used to be made up of four sections. The portion south of Spring Garden Road was called Pleasant Street, the downtown portion was Barrington, the portion north of downtown was Lockman Street and the portion beyond North Street was Campbell Road.)
 
In 1897, A 16-inch vein was found while the foundation was being dug for a grandstand at the new Provincial Exhibition Grounds between Almon, Windsor, and Young Streets. The exhibition grounds before 1897 were downtown at the corner of Morris Street and Cathedral Lane (formerly Tower Road), where All Saints Cathedral currently stands.

The 1897 exhibition, at its new home, showcased industries from all over the province, including a 3-stamp gold mill from the Windsor Foundry Company. It was suggested, jokingly, that the vein by the grandstand should be mined so both mining and processing could be demonstrated at the exhibition.

The exhibition drew crowds of over 60,000 that year and a visit from Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier.

On December 6, 1917, the exhibition building was destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Temporary apartments were built on its grounds soon after, housing approximately 2,200 people. In 1927 the Halifax Forum was built on part of the former exhibition grounds.

The post-1897 exhibition grounds in north end Halifax.

The post-1897 exhibition grounds in north end Halifax before being destroyed in theHalifax Explosion.

The post-1897 exhibition building was destroyed in the Halifax Explosion.

The pre-1897 exhibition building in south end Halifax is marked near the centre of this map.