Ferries on the Northwest Arm a fond memory
Iris Shea
If you lived in Jollimore prior to the 1960s, you will probably remember catching one of
the ferries to and from Halifax, either the Armdale Ferry or the Oakland Road Ferry.
Samuel Jollimore and Daniel Boutilier were listed in McAlpine’s 1901 Directory as
ferrymen in Jollimore. Josiah Boutilier, according to the Halifax City Council Minutes of
November 9, 1948, is credited with operating the ferry to Oaklands as early as 1904. In
its early years, the ferry landed in the cove at Oaklands, a private estate owned, first, by
William Cunard, Esquire, followed by P.C. Hill, and by Roderick MacDonald. Ferry
users from Jollimore, with permission of the estate’s owners, would walk across the
Oaklands estate to get to Oxford Street.
Council Minutes of April 4, 1913 brought forth an issue of the Oaklands ferry
landing on the Halifax side of the Northwest Arm. In a letter to Mr. Boutilier, Mr.
Roderick MacDonald cancelled permission for the use of his lands and Mr. Boutilier
requested assistance from Halifax City Council. The ferry could relocate to the landing at
the foot of South Street but that extra distance in winter would sometimes make it
impossible to cross. In rough and windy weather Mr. Boutilier claimed his passengers,
especially the ladies, would be exposed to the wind and rain for a longer period (the boats
used by Mr. Boutilier in those early years were open row rowboats). The problem,
however, solved itself when, in 1913, the decision was made to make the Railway cut
through Oaklands and a large section of MacDonald’s land was expropriated for that
purpose. The City of Halifax took over the Oaklands landing place and the extension to
the Arm, allowing access for ferry passengers to walk to Oxford Street.
Other ferries operated on the Halifax side of the Northwest Arm. In 1902 William
Robinson operated his ferry service from a boat landing at the foot of South Street. Adam
Marr did the same from the foot of Coburg Road. The annual permit fee for ferry
operators was $10. Robinson and Marr catered to Halifax residents who wished to travel
to other points on the Halifax side of the Northwest Arm while Josiah Boutilier provided
transportation for Jollimore residents who worked, shopped or attended school in Halifax.
Robinson’s ferry service was active until 1932 and Mr. Marr continued until 1943.
In 1908 another entrepreneur arrived on the Northwest Arm. Charles Longley, a
business owner in Halifax, had recently purchased Deadman’s Island and the forested
land on the shore. Longley established an Amusement Park and built a two-storey house
on Deadman’s Island. He subdivided his woodland on the shore into 70 cottage lots
which he sold to many Halifax residents. This was the beginning of Melville Park and the
community we know as Melville Cove. The City of Halifax granted Longley permission
to use the public boat landing at the foot of Jubilee Road for a ferry, the sole purpose of
which was to provide convenient access to his Amusement Park on Deadman’s Island.
Longley paid the usual annual fee of $10 for his permit. The 15 cent fee he charged the
ferry passengers also covered admission to his Amusement Park, open seven days a
week. Charles Longley, it seems, overextended himself and by 1920 his business ventures
began to suffer. There was one less ferry on the Northwest Arm.
Josiah Boutilier passed his Oakland Road/Jollimore Ferry on to his son, Foster,
who was granted a ferry license in 1944. Other men of Jollimore were employed to help
run the ferry in the evenings and on week-ends. Allan White, George Rockwell and Ray
Bignell were among them. Lloyd Bignell was granted a ferry license to operate the
Oakland Road ferry in 1956. He transferred his ferry license to George Mont in 1960 who
continued to hold that lease until 1966. Mr. Mont set up an Esso gas pump at the
Jollimore Ferry landing where owners of motor boats could buy gas. Ferry users
remember paying five cents a trip, then 10 cents and, in the 1950s, 15 cents. You could
catch the Jollimore Ferry until 10 pm (sometimes until midnight if entertainment was
taking place on the Arm or at the Dingle). If you were waiting for the ferry on the
Oakland Road side at night you could switch on a light that would alert the ferryman who
was in the ferry shack on the other side.
The Armdale Ferry began on a regular basis during the latter half of the 1930s
following removal of Frank Stoneman’s boathouse on Quinpool Road. In 1936 the City
of Halifax paid Mr. Stoneman $1,363.50 when they expropriated his boathouse and his
property which measured 200 feet into the Arm and 300 feet fronting the Arm. Widening
of Quinpool Road was the reason given for expropriation. Joseph E. Mont received
permission in 1937 to start a ferry service from the former Stoneman boathouse location.
The Armdale Ferry went to a boat landing in Fleming Park, just below the Memorial
Tower. The landing still exists, used mainly by mackerel fishermen. Mr. Mont operated
this ferry service until 1947, paying an annual fee of $10.
Arnold Burns was granted the lease to operate the Armdale Ferry in 1948 but paid
an annual fee of $30 because the city called it a temporary service, operating “as the
occasion demands” (mainly week-ends and holidays). In 1953 Mr. Burns asked for
permission to build a new ferry landing on the existing stone pier (known locally as
Critchley’s Wharf). The city allowed Mr. Burns to construct, at his own expense, “a
wooden ramp and float suitable for receiving and discharging passengers in connection
with the Armdale Ferry”. Sarah Jane (Perry) Raine recalls taking the ferry to and from
this landing. Lloyd Bignell was given permission to operate the Armdale Ferry in 1958
followed by Foster Boutilier in 1960, both using the original landing below the Memorial
Tower. In 1964 the ferry landing at Quinpool Road was taken over by private and
commercial boat tour operators.
The use of the Northwest Arm ferries for transportation had certainly dwindled by
the 1960s. Regular bus service to and from Halifax was being offered to local
communities and many residents owned motor vehicles. Riding the ferries on the
Northwest Arm was a way of life that is now only a fond memory.