Hotels in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

A little about Dartmouth...

Dartmouth (2001 pop.: 94,779), founded in 1750, is an urban community of the Halifax Regional Municipality and a former city in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Dartmouth was a twin city with the City of Halifax, which was the shire town of Halifax County and the provincial capital.

On April 1, 1996 the provincial government amalgamated all the municipalities within the boundaries of Halifax County into a single-tier regional government named Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). While Dartmouth and its neighbouring city of Halifax, the town of Bedford and the Municipality of the County of Halifax were dissolved at this time, the former city forms part of the urban core of the larger regional municipality and is officially labelled the "capital district" by the HRM government. At the time that the City of Dartmouth was dissolved, the provincial government altered its status to a separate community to Halifax however its status as part of the metropolitan "Halifax" urban core existed prior to municipal reorganization in 1996. Dartmouth still has the same geographic name that is still used by the local residents and all levels of government for mapping, 9-1-1, planning, and is recognized by Canada Post as a municipality. The official place name did not change due to the confusion with similar street names and planning set out by the "City of Dartmouth" and public pressure. Today the same development planning for Downtown Dartmouth and the rest of the community is still in force as well as specific bylaws created prior to April 1, 1996.

The oldest structure in Dartmouth is the house of William Ray, one of the whalers. It is located at 59 Ochterloney Street and is believed to have been built around 1785 or 1786. Today it is a museum, furnished as a typical modest dwelling of a merchant of that time. Guided tours are available during summer months.

Dartmouth is nicknamed "The City of Lakes". Boasting 23 lakes within its boundaries, Dartmouthians take special pride in the chain of lakes within its boundaries that form part of the Shubenacadie Canal. Most famous amongst these is Lake Banook, which provides an excellent location for recreation as well as attractive vistas.