St. Mark’s and the Halifax explosion A short history from 1866 to the present St. Mark’s and the Halifax Explosion of 1917 – a short history from 1866 to the present.

Drawing of St. Mark’s Church in 1866 St. Mark’s had its beginnings as a “Chapel of Ease’ for St. George’s Church. This was a response to the rapid development of the North End of Halifax, which included the establishment of the military base at Wellington Barracks in 1860. 

St. Mark’s Church interior in 1867 The growth in this community saw the building of four new churches – St. Mark’s Anglican in 1866, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic in1867, Kaye Street Methodist in 1869, and Grove Street Presbyterian in 1872.

St. Mark’s Church in 1910 Built by the clergy and congregation of St. George’s, St. Mark’s opened its doors in January 1866, and was consecrated on December 2, in the same year.

St. Mark’s Church, 1911 From 1887 to 1916 the church was enlarged three times to accommodate the growing population, especially of Army and Navy families.

Anglican Young People’s Association AYPA Charter No. 1 given 1902 Charter Number 1 of the Chi Rho Fellowship of the Anglican Young People’s Association of The Church of England in Canada was given to St. Mark’s in 1902.

Annesley Wedding, 1911 A Wedding for the Annesley Family took place in 1911.

Royal Canadian Regiment Church Parade, 1915 Church parades, including Army and Navy Bands, were commonplace with the entrance to Wellington Barracks just two blocks away.

December 6, 1917 – Smoke from the burning MONT BLANC In the early morning hours of December 6, 1917 – two ships – The Belgian Relief Ship IMO and the French ammunition ship the MONT BLANC collided near the Dartmouth shore at the narrowest part of the Halifax Harbour Channel.

9:04 a.m. Explosion Smoke Cloud from McNab’s Island The munitions ship caught fire, and its crew abandoned ship. On-lookers from both sides of the harbour were never made aware of the danger.

“The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain” Psalm 68.8a Natural Disaster “The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain” Psalm 68.8a The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain.

Explosion Impact Area At 9:05 a.m. The MONT BLANC blew up – a tidal wave washed along both sides of the harbour, and wooden buildings, stores and factories were crushed. It was at that time the largest man-made explosion in human history.

Gottingen Street a few hours after the explosion Being a cold December day, heating of buildings was usually by coal or wood stoves. With the collapse of wooden buildings, fire became the main enemy as the search for survivors began.

Harbour After Blast, with Imo blown to the Dartmouth Shore Both the Halifax and Dartmouth harbours were laid to waste. The IMO was pushed hundreds of yards south to rest on the Dartmouth shore.

Houses Destroyed Homes lost all their windows, and most lost all of their walls.  Little remained standing before the fires took hold. 

Street Destruction A snowstorm arrived and covered over the damage. This put out some fires, but hampered rescue efforts.

Volunteers search for survivors There was NO coordinated rescue plan in place, but military, police and numerous volunteers arrived on the scene and took the injured to make-shift hospitals, and the dead to make-shift morgues.

St. Joseph’s Church in ruins Three of the churches were destroyed. St. Joseph’s, built of stone, was extensively damaged.

St. Mark’s Church destroyed A chimney and scorched wood marked the place of what was once St. Mark’s Church.

The Roman Catholic church loses 404 members killed. Death Toll The Roman Catholic church loses 404 members killed. The Presbyterian Church loses 148 members including the Minister’s wife and young son who were killed. The Methodist Church loses 91 members. St. Mark’ s Church loses 200 members. Deaths were devastating for the four Churches. Out of the 2000 killed that day, 843 were church members. St. Mark’s lost 200 members – adults and children.

Key to the 1866 front door survives Old Altar Cross Chalice The key to the main door of St. Mark’s survived as has been used at every induction of a new Rector. Key to the 1866 front door survives

Base of the brass Altar Cross survives One of two items retrieved from the ashes of St. Mark’s – was the large brass altar cross.

Base of a Silver Chalice survives The other item was the base of a large Communion Chalice.

Chebucto School becomes a makeshift mortuary Many of the dead were brought to Chebucto School, which had served as a morgue following the Titanic sinking. It was now put in use again.

Descriptions of unidentified bodies published With adults dead and children orphaned, it became a gruesome task of identifying the bodies using articles of clothing and items in the pockets.

One of the many funerals taking place in December for unidentified remains Many of the unidentified were buried in mass graves following large outdoor services.

into a place of refreshment.” Resurrection “We went through fire and water, but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.” Psalm 66.11b We went through fire and water, but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

Tar Paper Church Within a few days of the disaster, the survivors began to consider plans for the future. Members of Grove Street Presbyterian and Kaye Street Methodist got together and built a temporary church. The first service was held here in March 1918.

Tar Paper Church Both St. Mark’s and St. Joseph’s began to hold regular services here as well, a practice of Ecumenicalism unknown in its day.

United Memorial Church serves from 1921 to 2015 when closed The Presbyterians and Methodists combined to build United Memorial Church, which opened in 1921. This building served the community well until closing in 2015.

St. Joseph’s Church – 1921 to 2007 when closed and demolished St. Joseph’s was rebuilt on the same site, and served the Roman Catholic community faithfully until closure in June 2006.

1920 – Cornerstone laid for new St. Mark’s further up Russell Street St. Mark’s surviving congregation made plans to build a new brick church further up the hill at the corner of Russell and Gottingen Streets. The cornerstone was laid on June 18, 1920.

Plans for new church Like the 1866 building, the South tower would be shorter than the North tower.

New church surrounded by vacant fields The new church opened on February 5, 1921. Many memorials were dedicated, and Nova Scotia Archbishop C. L. Worrell, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, officiated.

Interior of the new Church The broad expanse of the new church allowed for the seating of over 500 people, and the choir and organist delighted in the new Casavant Organ. Much of the interior remains unchanged to this day.

East Rose Window Space for a rose window on the East façade was also included.