Africville Museum Halifax

History

The Africville Museum was founded and means to remember the history of the African community of Halifax with its exhibition focusing on the the resettlement act. The museum was only founded in 2010 and was entirely funded and donated by the city of Halifax as a form of apology for having resettled the African community by force. In addition, a small piece of land was given back to the community that was once a part of the former settlement. And on this territory, the Africville Park was built on including a memorial in remebrance of what once happened here.

History of Africville

Africville once was a small community populated by inhabitants originating in Africa. This territory had belonged to this territory since 1848 with its settlement being located by the southern lakeside of the Bedford Basins. In early 20th century, the community had grown from initially a number of families up to 400 people. In 1906 there were railway lines built through the settlements heavily affecting the inhabitants' quality of life. The Halifax Explosion damaged most parts of the city in 1917, including Africville. As a consequence, lots of money was invested in rebuilding the city. Unfortunately, Africville did not receive any monetary aid.

In the years to follow, the city had decided to use the settlement area of Africville for industrial purposes. On top, there was a bridge built here too. As a result, it was decided to resettle the whole of Africville. In 1964, the inhabitants of Africville were eventually resettled and often had to leave their homes without any compensation payments. The destruction of Arficville's church in 1969 marked the end of the settlement.

Only in 2010 the acting mayor of Halifax apologised for what once had been done to the community of Africville. The apology contained a fond, building a replica of the former church as well as founding a museum, all financed by the city of Halifax. Additionally, a park was created in the former settlement area, where one can also find the memorial for the once resettled inhabitants of Africville.

By car

The museum is located at the same named Africville Road, which runs along the port peninsula. It's best to travel here by car. Follow Bedford Highway until it changes to Highway 111. Exiting here will lead you straight to Africville Road. Follow the road until you spot an exit sign on the left. Here you can leave your car on the museum owned car park.

By public transport

It is rather difficult to reach the museum by means of public transport. All bus stops are quite far from the museum.