Halifax County Regional Rehabilitation Centre
| Halifax County Regional Rehabilitation Centre | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1887 |
| Closed | Winter 2001 |
| Demolished | Winter 2011 |
| Current Status | Demolished/Destroyed by fire |
| Building Style | Rambling Plan |
| Location | Cole Harbour, Halifax County, NS |
| Alternate Names |
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The Halifax County Regional Rehabilitation Centre originally started out as the County Poor Home (or sometimes referred to as Poors' Home) in 1887, adjacent to Bisset Lake in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Throughout its one hundred year history, the site changed its role from supporting homeless and poor citizens, to becoming a psychiatric hospital.
History
In 1887, Halifax County created a home for poor and homeless individuals on a farm near Bisset Lake in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. The site mainly served as a working farm for those who could not find work or shelter. In 1929 the houses which held the residents caught fire and burnt down, displacing the residents throughout the city of Halifax. In 1941, a new building was erected across from the old site and the name, and mission, changed to Halifax County Home and Mental Hospital. Due to the construction of welfare housing in the city of Halifax, the site underwent another mission and name change in 1952 to the Halifax County Hospital, and by the end of the decade its only focus was on psychiatric patient care.
In the summer of 2001, the aging facility shut down. While the buildings remained empty and unused, the property was subsequently rented out to TPB Productions Inc. for the filming of the television show Trailer Park Boys in 2003, and some Trailer Park Boys feature films. With the buildings abandoned, and TPB Productions between seasons or on hiatus, the site became an attraction for urban explorers, vandals, and anyone else looking to explore. In November of 2010, vandals set fire to the sites chapel forcing TPB Productions to vacate the site, and the Capital District Health Authority to begin demolition in early 2011.
Today, a dog park and walking trail remains on the site where the former County Home houses were. A graveyard also remains on the parks property with the sites of former residents and patients.
Images
Arial view with Bisset Lake in the foreground
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Main Building
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