Some Parks Canada Places have begun a safe, gradual reopening and resumption of limited visitor services. Visitors are encouraged to plan ahead and be well-prepared for their visit. For more details regarding hours of operation contact the site directly. For more information regarding Parks Canada and Covid-19, visit https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/georges/visit/covid-19-info
The British came in 1749 to build a naval base to counter the continuing threat that Louisbourg posed to New England. They called the new town Halifax and this little island “George’s Island,” and almost immediately built fortifications there due to its strategic location for harbour defence. Fort Charlotte remained unchanged for several decades until advances in military technology required another significant rebuild in the 1850s. The coastal defences in Halifax, including Georges Island, were re-armed and reconstructed to make use of the more powerful rifled muzzle-loading guns. From this time onward, the island would be home to many members of the Royal Artillery and other British regiments, and in 1906, members of the Canadian Forces when the Government of Canada assumed responsibility for the Halifax defences from the British. Home to Fort Charlotte and later its two powerful seaward-facing batteries and underground tunnel complex, Georges Island is also the site of one of Canada’s first fully automated lighthouses.
Thanks to its complex of subterranean passages and tunnels, this mysterious island has been the subject of local folklore for generations.
