Halifax County - American Courthouses

Halifax County is named for George Montagu-Dunk, who was the 2nd Earl of Halifax.

Surrounding Courthouses:

N – Pictou County and Guysborough County

E – Atlantic Ocean

S – Lunenburg County

W – Hants County and Colchester County

County Created : August 17, 1759

County Seat:

Halifax 1759 – present

Courthouse – Halifax

Location: 1815 Upper Water Street / Duke Street

Built: 1968 – 1970

Style: Modern Brutalist

Architect: Fowler, Bauld and Mitchell Ltd. of Halifax

Contractor: Fundy Construction Ltd.

Description: The building faces west and is a seven story light red and grey coloured concrete slab and glass structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on a raised plaza in the city centre with the first story below the plaza level. The west front has a central entrance on the second story with extended concrete canopy. Vertical concrete dividers and horizontal concrete beams run between the horizontal recessed windows. The roof line is flat. The Court of Appeal courtroom is located on the fifth story.

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

Description: The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal is housed in the Halifax Law Courts Building. The Court of Appeal courtroom is located at the centre of the fifth story in courtroom 502. The courtroom is paneled with vertical brown coloured wood. The judges bench is on the east side with Coat of Arms above. The council tables are in the centre and public seating is along the west side.

Old County Courthouse – Halifax

Location: 5250 Spring Garden Road / Grafton Street

Built: 1858 – 1863

Style: Neo-Classical and Palladian

Architect: William Thomas and Sons of Toronto, Ontario

Contractor: George Laing of New Brunswick

Description: The building faces north and is a four story buff coloured sandstone and wood structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the city centre with the Old Burying Grounds on the east side. The north front has three arches with a central entrance on the first story and two large Tuscan Doric columns and three high arched windows on the second story rising to a pediment at the roof line. Keystones are carved in the shape of faces resembling Neptune and medallions in the form of lion heads. The interior has a large wood central staircase. The 1882 addition on the south side contains the large courtroom on the second story which has a traverse-beamed ceiling and large stained glass window on the east side. This courtroom was the Court of Appeal courtroom until 1971. On the west side of the second story is the original Supreme Court courtroom. The east and west wings are Greek Revival style structures. The building has six courtrooms and houses the Provincial Court. From 1971 to 1985, the building was used as the Provincial Library but was restored to use as a courthouse for the Provincial Court.

Note: The courthouse was constructed in four phases. 1) the 1860-1861 centre section, 2) a wing on the south side in 1881-1882, 3) the east wing and 4) the west wing. The building is constructed with brown stone from St. Mary’s Point in New Brunswick and Wallace stone from Cumberland County.

History: The Supreme Court convened for the first time in 1754 in a building being the first courthouse, at the corner of Argle Street and Buckingham Street, now Scotia Square. The county was one of the five original counties created in 1759. Halifax was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse burned in 1789 and court was held in a large room at the Golden Ball tavern which became the second courthouse. Later space was leased in a warehouse which became the third courthouse and was located on the site now occupied by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. In 1810, the fourth courthouse was built for the lower courts adjacent to the open-air market on George Street. When the Province House was constructed in 1818, the Supreme Court occupied the second story chamber now used as the Legislative Library until the fifth courthouse was constructed in 1859 to 1863. The building is still standing and used as a courthouse for the Provincial Court. The sixth courthouse was constructed in 1968 to 1970 and houses the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

Other Branch Courthouses

Family Court Courthouse – Halifax / Juvenile Court Courthouse – Dartmouth