History Matters Public Lecture Series
History Matters Public Lecture Series
The society meets monthly from September to May to hear and to discuss individual papers about personalities, places, and events integral to the history of Nova Scotia. Lectures are free and open to the public. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. and, until further notice, will be held via Zoom.
“Anna and the Art School: Anna Leonowens and the Founding of Halifax’s Victoria School of Art and Design, 1887-1897, Part 2,” by Lois Yorke
Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), in-person at the Lindsay Children’s Room on the 2nd floor at the Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Click here for the Zoom link.
Abstract:
In October 1887, just as the new Victoria School of Art and Design prepared to open, and despite its early acceptance, even popularity, the seeds of decline were already present. The initial leadership remained, including Leonowens, but the world was changing around them, and their ability to react quickly and decisively was being eroded. Across a long decade, and again based on primary sources and Halifax newspapers, the second part of this story explores how two departures, one return, a death, and the waning of the old century all combined to threaten the school’s survival.
Lois Yorke
A graduate of Dalhousie University, Lois Yorke is the former Provincial Archivist and Director of the Nova Scotia Archives. She has spent over forty years as an archivist, editor, researcher and consultant in cultural heritage. Her long-standing involvement in women’s history has produced various articles on ‘interesting’ women from Nova Scotia’s past. These back-to-back lectures on the founding of Halifax’s Victoria School of Art and Design are drawn from a much larger project – the first biography to explore fully the life and times of Anna Harriette Leonowens, ‘The English Governess at the Siamese Court’ – possibly the most interesting woman of them all.
“History Matters: Poutrincourt’s 1607 Gristmill - The Search for “The Oldest Mill in North America” by Mark C. Borton
Wednesday, June 17th, 2026, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), in-person at the Lindsay Children’s Room on the 2nd floor at the Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Click here for the Zoom link.
Mark C. Borton is the founder of the Allain’s River Historic Discovery Project, an organization that seeks to systematically investigate and preserve the historically significant sites along the Allain’s River in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Borton is also the creator of the Embassy Boating Guide series (Maine to Florida) and the Maptech Waterproof Chart series (USA), and the author of "Moondoggle: Franklin Roosevelt and the Fight for Tidal-Electric Power at Passamaquoddy Bay".
Abstract:
In 1605-7, French explorer-settlers built the first water-powered gristmill at Port Royal, initiating the First Industrial Revolution in North America. Poutrincourt’s Mill was shown on Samuel Champlain’s 1607 map—but for 400 years, historians haven’t been able to find it. New technologies and fresh perspectives have revealed its likely location—along with three other ancient mills, Acadian tidal dykes, and Mi’kmaq cultural sites.
