It may be stating the obvious but the Halifax Common you see today is radically different from what it looked like three hundred years ago. And not just because it is now surrounded by tall buildings with many vehicles rushing by its borders.

No, the Halifax Common is radically different because it is no longer wet, swampy land with a large brook running through it. The Mi’kmaq lived in Nova Scotia for thousands of years prior to colonization. When the British began construction of Halifax in 1749, it permanently disrupted the Mi’kmaq’s traditional use of the waterways and wetlands for travel by canoe, fishing, gathering and hunting moose, beaver and duck.

While we think of Halifax as the city built on rock, when the British arrived there was approximately 83 hectares of wetlands and approximately 78 kilometers of rivers and streams throughout the peninsula.

One of the largest sources of fresh water in Halifax was Freshwater Brook, which originated in the north end and flowed southward through the North and Central Common. It eventually emptied into the harbour, near the bottom of Inglis Street.

As the city grew and changed, so did Freshwater Brook. Farming no longer took place in downtown Halifax and the need for animals to graze close to the downtown, on the Common, was eliminated. The original purpose of the Common ceased to exist and The Public Gardens, the Wanderer’s Grounds, private land grants and other uses resulted in Common land being taken for many purposes very different from its original one.

And where did Freshwater Brook go?

Primarily, Freshwater Brook became hidden although in some places it was actually filled in to create drier land. The end result was that much of the brook was used for a practical, if not glamorous, purpose: a sewer.

On occasion, elements of this sewer system have been unearthed which have led to some citizens suggesting it is time to daylight the brook. To date, HRM has shown no interest in doing so.

You can still catch a glimpse of Freshwater Brook by visiting the Halifax Public Gardens.