Deadman's Island Park
| Deadman's Island Park | |
|---|---|
| Type | Public park |
| Location | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Created | 2005 |
| Operated by | Halifax Regional Municipality |
Deadman's Island is a small peninsula containing a cemetery and park located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada. The area was first used as a training grounds for the British military, and later became a burial ground for dead prisoners of war from nearby Melville Island. In the early 1900s the site became an amusement park before being annexed to the city of Halifax in the 1960s. Though development projects were considered for the site, these plans met with popular protest, and instead Deadman's Island became a heritage park, Deadman's Island Park.
Despite its name, Deadman's Island is not an island at all, but a peninsula that protrudes into the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour 200 metres (660 ft) east of Melville Island. Connected to the mainland by a thin wedge of land, it is a "swampy spit...surmounted by a piney knoll". The cove on its eastern side, characterized as "likely areas for the discovery of pre-Contact remains," supports a significant fish population.
It was first known as "Target Island" or "Target Hill" after use by the British Navy for target practice. The land was used by the British military during the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812 for interring prisoners of war from a prison on nearby Melville Island. Sixty-six French, nine Spanish, and 195 American soldiers and sailors died at the facility and were buried in canvas bags in unmarked graves, thus giving the island its name.
Deadman's Island may also have been used to bury some of the escaped slaves who came to Melville Island after 1813, at least 104 of whom died, and the Irish immigrants quarantined on Melville in 1847, of whom 30 died. However, after 1847 burials were no longer conducted on the island, despite Melville Island's continued use as a prison or detention centre. There was only one known marked grave on Deadman's Island, that of Canadian mariner John Dixon; he was buried in 1847 by the VII King's Foot with a temporary marker, which was "renewed" in 1895 by the 1st Royal Berkshire Regiment. According to a local legend, Dixon had fallen in love with the daughter of a British colonel, who upon discovering their romance had him sent to Melville Island prison where he committed suicide; however, this story is likely false.
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