A Brief History
The home was established in 1887 to care for Halifax poor and “harmless insane”. Over the course of its operation Poor’s Farm supervised numerous “inmates” of all sex, ethnicity and age. A number of the residents who lived at the home were left by family members who did not have the skills, desire or means to care for a family member who possessed anyone of a variety of challenges. Additionally, children were reported to have been born at the home. According to Heather MacLeod-Leslie, in her report Poor’s Farm Cemetery and Dormitories, approximately 300 individuals died at the farm. At times, the remains of residents went uncollected and were, therefore, buried in the corresponding cemetery to the east of the dormitory site.
Poor’s Farm was a working establishment, where residents grew their own produce and raised livestock. What they did not consume themselves, they would sell to the local community to generate additional income. In 1910 the name of the facility was changed to the County Home, and continued to operate until a fire destroyed portions of the dormitory buildings in 1929. At the time of its closure, the home had 140 residents. All escaped the blaze and were moved to another county home in Halifax, where they were held until their relocation ten years later to a new rehabilitation centre across the road from the old farm. After the fire, all of the structures, save one, were demolished. The remaining building acted as residence to a family by the name of Green until its destruction in the late 1940s.
Archaeology at Poor's Farm
Community members and local history enthusiasts have always had a curiosity about Poor’s Farm’s past, which has led to recent amplified interest in the archaeological remains of the site. In 1990 Stephen Powell, from the Nova Museum of Natural History, conducted a site survey of the CHHP and surrounding areas. From his investigations Powell identified six features that are believed to be associated with the original county home. This was followed by investigations by Heather MacLeod-Leslie, Saint Mary’s University adjunct professor and current archaeologist for Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn in Truro, Nova Scotia. In 2006, MacLeod-Leslie carried out a non-intrusive site survey of both the cemetery and dormitory areas using an electromagnetic conductivity meter (EM-38B) and ground penetrating radar (GPR). MacLeod-Leslie’s intentions were to use these means to locate the possible position of grave shafts reported to be located on the grounds, as well, as other subsurface anomalies. This was followed by the 2007 Saint Mary’s University field school, where MacLeod-Leslie and her students were able to identify the locations of a number of grave shafts, as well as, conduct a full scale excavation of one of the graves and a building feature located in the dormitory area. In 2008 and 2009 Sarah Kingston- Penney revisited the dormitory area, conducting a public archaeology program at the site. During these sessions members of both the general public and archaeological community were invited to work side by side in uncovering features and artifact materials. The success of the Poor's Farm Public Archaeology Program (PFPAP) has led to further interest in continuing investigations at the site. Plans are currently in progress to make excavations at Poor's a yearly event.
Objectives
One of the chief objectives of archaeological investigations at Poor's Farm is to support the goals of the Cole Harbour Parks and Trails Association (CHPTA). The CHPTA is an organization comprised of community volunteers who stewards the park’s cultural and natural resources, on behalf of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) who owns the property. Their intentions are to incorporate existing cultural heritage resources to enhance visitor experience. The CHPTA will eventually be placing surface markers over the footprints of each of the suspected eight structures located in the field where the buildings once stood. This is one of the ways the organization would like to achieve their heritage interpretation goals for the park. They have employed the use of archaeological investigations to aid in this purpose and have expressed interest in making archaeology a key and regular component of their long term heritage interpretation plan for the park.
Where is Poor's Farm Located?
Poor’s Farm is located within the boundaries of the Cole Harbour Heritage Park on Bissett Road (CHHP), Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Visitors can identify the park’s location by observing a big red barn situated next to the main entrance, which is estimated to be approximately 1.3 kilometres south of the Cole Harbour Road. A coordinate, taken from Google Earth, puts the parking lot of the entrance at a position of 44°39’50.43”N, 63°28’05.18”W. The dormitory site (operation 2) is located in a large field, just to the right of one of the park’s main walking trails, and is recognizable by a single, sizeable tree that sits towards the bottom (visible next to the pin in Figure 3). Additionally, to the left of the same trail at the top of the slope is a drylaid stone reservoir, thought to have supplied fresh water to residents of the farm at the time of operation. Again, a coordinate from Google Earth places the dormitory’s position at 44°40’02.20” N, 63°27’38.13”W. The area is also in close proximity to the cemetery, which is approximately 150 metres east of the field along the Old Poor’s Farm Road trail.
