Lower Sackville is a suburban community of 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Canada.
History
Before European colonization in 1749, the
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
lived in this area for thousands of years.
In August 1749, Captain
John Gorham, acting on orders from Governor
Edward Cornwallis to establish a military fort named
Fort Sackville. (The community was named after
George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville.).
In the 1950s and 1960s it was a destination for Haligonians seeking entertainment at a drive-in cinema, a harness racing track (Sackville Downs), and an World War II bomber-plane ice cream parlour. Sackville Downs closed in 1986.
Lower Sackville experienced intensive suburban development from the 1970s onward due to new highway connections as well as a major development scheme by the Nova Scotia Housing Commission, later the Nova Scotia Department of Housing. Suburbanization contributed to a decline in agriculture in the community.
Before
amalgamation into 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 ...
in 1996, Lower Sackville was an unincorporated part of
Halifax County.
On 1 April 1996, Halifax County was dissolved and all of its places (cities, suburbs, towns, and villages) became communities of a single-tier municipality named Halifax Regional Municipality.
Today, Lower Sackville is a
commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
of Halifax home to many established businesses, parks, and places of interest.
Geography
According to the 2013 ''Halifax Regional Municipality Urban Forest Master Plan'', the community of Lower Sackville covers approximately of land area.
Lower Sackville is east of
Lucasville; north--north-east of
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
; south-east of
Middle Sackville; and south-west of
Windsor Junction.
The community is located approximately from
Downtown Dartmouth, approximately from
Downtown Halifax, and approximately from
Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
Districts of Lower Sackville
The following are the districts of Lower Sackville, their geographical location, and/or main road:
*Cobequid - Upper half of Cobequid Road
*Downtown - Upper half of Sackville Drive, close to Beaver Bank Road
*East Sackville - First Lake Drive
*Industrial Park - Lower half of Cobequid Road and Glendale Avenue
*North Sackville - Stokil Drive and Armcrest
*Olde Sackville - Old Sackville Road and Riverside Estates
*Sackville Estates - Below Century Park, connected to Millwood
*Seawood - Seawood Avenue
*South Sackville - Between the lower half of Sackville Drive and Glendale Drive, also includes Chandler Peninsula
*Stonemount - Stonemount Drive
*Sunnyvale - Sunnyvale Crescent
*West Sackville - Riverside Drive
*Walker Area - Walker Avenue
Some neighbourhoods of Lower Sackville are also known by their tendency to use street names starting with the same letter:
*"C" Section: Cavalier Dr, Cavendish Dr, Cartier Cres, Cabot Cres, Crimson Dr
*"L" Section: Lennox Dr, Lumsden Cres, Lynville Dr, Lydgate Dr
*"N" Section: Nordic Cres, Neilly Dr, Nappan Dr, Newcombe Dr, Nictaux Dr
*"P" Section: Polara Dr, Polara Ct, Phoenix Cres
*"Q" Section: Quaker Cres, Quinn Dr, Queens Ct
*"R" Section: Rogers Dr, Rankin Dr, Riverside Dr, Rothesay Ct
*"S" Section: Smokey Dr, Stokil Dr, Sampson Dr, Saratoga Dr, Saturn Dr, Spinner Cres, Sappire Cres
Other streets are named after the Fathers of Canadian confederation: Brown, Cartier, Chandler, Chapais, Cockburn, Coles, Dickie, Haviland, Howland, Johnson, Langevin, MacDougall, McGee, Mowat, Nelson, Pope, Shea, Steeves, Tache, Tilley, Tilloch, and Wilmot.
Parks and recreation
Arenas
*Sackville Community Arena
*Sackville Sports Stadium (home of the
Lakeshore Curling Club)
Community centres
*Acadia Centre
*Kinsmen Community Centre
*Sackville Heights Community Centre
Library
*Sackville Public Library
Museums
*
Fultz House
Parks
*Acadia Park
*Sackville Lakes Provincial Park
Pools
*Sackville Sports Stadium
Trails
*Bedford-Sackville Connector
Demographics
The only demographic information that pertains to Lower Sackville is provided by
Halifax Regional Council, and pertains to
''District 15 (Lower Sackville)''.
District 15 (Lower Sackville) has 21,379 people living within its boundaries. However, the ''community'' itself does not have any recent demographic information.
Economy
Lower Sackville has experienced ribbon/strip-style commercial development along
Trunk 1 since the 1950s. Current retail chains include
Canadian Tire, Cleve's Sporting Goods,
Dollarama,
Giant Tiger,
Sobeys
Sobeys Inc. is a national supermarket chain in Canada with over 1,500 stores operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 bil ...
, and
Real Atlantic Superstore. There are numerous independent restaurants-and-retailers located in this area as well. Most of the restaurants in the area are of the
fast food
Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
variety, as well as other establishments that serve various cuisines.
Transportation
The community is located northwest of the Halifax-Dartmouth urban core.
Highway 101,
Highway 102,
Route 354, and
Trunk 1 (called Sackville Drive within Lower Sackville) are highways that connect the community to the rest of the urban area, or beyond.
Lower Sackville is serviced by many
Halifax Transit routes. The agency operates two transit terminals in the community: Cobequid Terminal in the south, and Sackville Terminal in the north.
Halifax Transit routes
* Route 8 (''Sackville'')
* Route 82 (''First Lake'')
* Route 83 (''Springfield'')
* Route 84 (''Glendale'')
* Route 85 (''Millwood'')
* Route 86 (''Beaver Bank'')
* Route 87 (''Sackville-Dartmouth'')
* Route 88 (''Bedford Commons'')
* Route 93 (''Bedford Highway'')
* Route 182 (''First Lake Express'')
* Route 183 (''Springfield Express'')
* Route 185 (''Millwood Express'')
* Route 186 (''Beaver Bank Express'')
Education
Lower Sackville has nine schools including five elementary schools, three junior high schools, and one high school. They are all administered by the
Halifax Regional Centre for Education.
Elementary schools
* Caudle Park Elementary
* Cavalier Drive School
* Hillside Park Elementary
* Smokey Drive Elementary
* Sycamore Lane Elementary
Junior high schools
* A.J. Smeltzer Junior High
* Leslie Thomas Junior High
* Sackville Heights Junior High
High schools
*
Sackville High School
Notable people
*
Charles Fenerty
Charles Fenerty ( January 1821 – 10 June 1892) was a Canadian inventor who invented the wood pulp process for papermaking, which was first adapted into the production of newsprint. Fenerty was also a poet, writing over 32 known poems.
Early li ...
, inventor of
newsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has ...
made from
wood pulp
Pulp is a fibrous Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulose fiber, cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rag ...
.
*Corey LeRue, musician in Canadian Pop Band
Neon Dreams.
*
Brad Marchand,
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
player for the
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
. Won the Stanley Cup with the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
. (Originally from Lower Sackville but grew up in
Upper Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia)
* Adrian Morris, musician in Canadian Pop Band
Neon Dreams.
*
Nikki Payne, award-winning stand-up comedian and contestant on the 2006 edition of
NBC television's reality show ''
Last Comic Standing
''Last Comic Standing'' is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as ...
''. Also, frequent juror on
MuchMusic's show ''
Video on Trial''. She attended Millwood High School.
*
James Sheppard, professional hockey player who previously played for the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
, the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
and the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
.
References
{{Communities_of_Bedford/Sackville
Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia