LOCATION:
The community of Spryfield is situated on the
Herring Cove road about six-and-a-half kilometers from Halifax's
Armdale Rotary.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
The name of the community comes from an association
with Captain William Spry, who received five hundred acres in 1769
joining another piece of property he had purchased earlier. By 1771,
he had purchased more land and was operating a 1500-acre Spryfield
Farm. By 1783, he sold his home which included one hundred cleared
acres and returned to England.
SETTLEMENT HISTORY:
The area was first settled by Henry Lieblin in 1767,
a Halifax baker who received five hundred acres and named his home
"Leiblin Manor," Today Leiblin Park Subdivision is located
where his home once stood.
The Spry property was purchased by George MacIntosh
who had bought other small grants along the North West Arm as far as
Harrietsfield. He began to sell off the land as small lots. Today
there is a new subdivision in Spryfield named for George MacIntosh.
Robert Letson, a Loyalist from New York, purchased
one of the lots. Originally, Letson operated a sedan chair service
from a stand on Barrington Street in downtown Halifax. He married
three times and had a total of seventeen children.
Around 1800, the Jollimore and Boutilier families,
both originally from the St. Margaret's Bay area, bought some of
Letson's land, and in 1822 Richard Dingle of the United States
purchased land around Letson Lake. Sometime later, Henry Twinning, a
Halifax barrister, built a summer residence he called "Bloscobel"
on land he bought from George Jollimore. The residence is now a
registered heritage property.
GENEALOGY:
By 1827, sixty-seven families were residing in the
community, including those by the name of Lawson, Yeadon, Brunt,
Connors, Findlay, Henneberry, Kidson, Moor, Norris, Sutherland and
Warner. The Kidson family home at 62 Rickingstone Road, built in
1825, is also a registered heritage property.
SPRYFIELD TODAY:
Spryfield remained a small self-contained community
until after World War Two. It was amalgamated as part of the City of
Halifax, along with a number of nearby suburbs on January 1, 1969.
Today Spryfield continues to grow with a library, shopping malls and
other business enterprises being introduced into the Spryfield area.
"one City...Many Communities" co -
published BY Halifax Regional Municipality AND Nimbus, funded BY
the HRM Millennium Committee.Author : Alfreda Withrow
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©
1999-2004 by Halifax County NS Canada GenWeb and/or it's contributors
RETURN
TO NOVA SCOTIA GENWEB
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Halifax County Genweb Project
gratefully acknowledges the following sources:
Historical Information on many
community pages is from : One
City...Many Communities" co - published by Halifax Regional
Municipality and Nimbus, funded By the HRM Millennium
Committee.Author : Alfreda Withrow.
Mapeeze: Free map linking on
Destination Nova Scotia.
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