Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia
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Fergusons Cove is a
suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
community within the
Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
(HRM),
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
on the western shore of
Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...
between Purcell's Cove and
Herring Cove Herring Cove (2006 pop.: 2,790) is a Canadian suburban and former fishing community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. It is situated on the eastern shore of the Chebucto Peninsula, south of Downtown Halifax. It is near the wester ...
along Route 253. The first 3 digits of the
postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...
in the area are B3V.


History

First settled in 1788 by William Glazebrook. It was initially known as Falkland, named after Lady Falkland, wife of Lucius Bentinck Falkland, one of the Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia. The Lynch family from Ireland settled in 1803. Another of the earliest settlers was William Embley from
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, who served in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. He relocated to Fergusons Cove after being discharged in 1811. The community was connected to
Spryfield Spryfield is a community within the urban area of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. History The land now known as Spryfield was first occupied by the Miꞌkmaq people, who hunted and fished at Beaver Lake (now called Long Lake Provincial Park (Nov ...
, a community further inland on the
Chebucto Peninsula The Chebucto Peninsula is a peninsula located in central Nova Scotia, Canada, entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality on the Atlantic coast. It is bordered by St. Margarets Bay in the west, the open Atlantic Ocean to the south, and ...
, by a road which began at the foot of the steep hill just to the north of
York Redoubt York Redoubt is a redoubt situated on a bluff overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour at Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, originally constructed in 1793. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1962. History York Redou ...
, and ended in the Roach's Pond area of Spryfield. This is now a footpath which is seldom used, and slowly reverting to a natural state – but still easily followed and well worth the time to hike. The Fergusons Cove entrance is just south of an old quarry, while the Sprfield entrance is behind the sewer treatment plant at the end of Princeton Ave. There were several
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
quarries in the community in the early 20th century, but none are active today. Many of the men of the community in its early days made their living as harbour pilots. By the latter part of the 20th century, however, it had become a "bedroom community" for Halifax. It is still a sparsely-settled area, but much development has taken place in the past 30 years, especially on the upper end of the housing market.


Fire of 2009

A notable recent event in the community's history (other than the Hell's Angels having an informal "club house" in part of the ruined fortifications by the ocean at the end of the road which goes past York Redoubt – in the late 1970s and early 1980s), was the fire of 1 and 2 May 2009. The fire started in the vicinity of Roach's Pond in Spryfield, and spread rapidly to the Fergusons Cove area, aided by high winds and much dry debris from
Hurricane Juan Hurricane Juan was a significant tropical cyclone which caused extensive damage to parts of Atlantic Canada, being the tenth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Juan formed southeast of Bermuda on Sep ...
, which has made much of the HRM region prone to greater forest fire damage than normal. It caused the closure of both Herring Cove and Purcell's Cove Roads, and forced the evacuation of almost 1500 people, mostly in the Fergusons Cove area, where 8 houses were completely destroyed and a dozen others badly damaged. It burned about in all, and was the worst fire in the area since 1964 when severe fires burned large portions of the forested area of Spryfield. Nobody was seriously injured in the blaze.


Military presence

Due to the elevation in the area and its subsequent overview of the approaches to
Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...
the high bluffs from Fergusons Cove to Chebucto Head have been used as defensive positions for the city at least as far back as 1793. In addition, the
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
operates Damage Control Training Facility Kootenay just south of the fort, its grounds containing the former training battery for York Redoubt at Sandwich Point.


Fort York Redoubt

A large coastal defense fort called
York Redoubt York Redoubt is a redoubt situated on a bluff overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour at Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, originally constructed in 1793. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1962. History York Redou ...
was established in the community in 1793, it was active through both world wars and ceased operations in 1956. The fort is now a National Historic Site.


References

{{reflist Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia History of Halifax, Nova Scotia