fax connection is made for Dartmouth by steam ferry from the foot of George Street. The site of the prosperous suburb on the east bank of the harbour was preferred by some of the early colonists to that of Halifax. Protestants against the choice of Cornwallis founded a town here in 1750, most of them being emigrants who had arrived on the Alderney, a ship of 500 tons. They named the settlement for the Earl of Dartmouth, confidant of Queen Anne.
In 1784 a number of whalers came with their families from Nantucket and a grant of land was made them. Black whales were then abundant in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sperm whales were found further south in the Atlantic.
The first ferry to Halifax was instituted in 1752. The ferryman cried "Over! Over!" and before going "blew a conch" to warn of departure.
Directly opposite Halifax on the Dartmouth side is a mammoth sugar refinery, successor to one established in 1883. The Nova Scotia Asylum for the Insane occupies a fine position on the ridge. A mile or so from the heart of Dartmouth is the first of a series of fresh water lakes which in both winter and summer are the centre of lively pastimes. Dartmouth is the gate-way to popular Cow Bay, Cole Harbour and Lawrencetown, all of which afford, within pleasant driving distance, superior sea bathing.
