Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia

Lower Sackville is a suburban community of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada.

History

Before European colonization in 1749, the Mi'kmaq lived in this area for thousands of years.

In August 1749, Captain John Gorham, acting on orders from Governor Edward Cornwallis to establish a military fort named Fort Sackville. (The community was named after George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville.).

In the 1950s and 1960s it was a destination for Haligonians seeking entertainment at a drive-in cinema, a harness racing track (Sackville Downs), and an World War II bomber-plane ice cream parlour. Sackville Downs closed in 1986.

Lower Sackville experienced intensive suburban development from the 1970s onward due to new highway connections as well as a major development scheme by the Nova Scotia Housing Commission, later the Nova Scotia Department of Housing. Suburbanization contributed to a decline in agriculture in the community.

Before amalgamation into the Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996, Lower Sackville was an unincorporated part of Halifax County.

On 1 April 1996, Halifax County was dissolved and all of its places (cities, suburbs, towns, and villages) became communities of a single-tier municipality named Halifax Regional Municipality.

Today, Lower Sackville is a bedroom community of Halifax home to many established businesses, parks, and places of interest.

Geography
According to the 2013 Halifax Regional Municipality Urban Forest Master Plan, the community of Lower Sackville covers approximately  of land area. 

Lower Sackville is east of Lucasville; north--north-east of Bedford; south-east of Middle Sackville; and south-west of Windsor Junction. 

The community is located approximately  from Downtown Dartmouth, approximately  from Downtown Halifax, and approximately  from Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

Districts of Lower Sackville
The following are the districts of Lower Sackville, their geographical location, and/or main road:

Cobequid - Upper half of Cobequid Road
Downtown - Upper half of Sackville Drive, close to Beaver Bank Road
East Sackville - First Lake Drive
Industrial Park - Lower half of Cobequid Road and Glendale Avenue
North Sackville - Stokil Drive and Armcrest
Olde Sackville - Old Sackville Road and Riverside Estates
Sackville Estates - Below Century Park, connected to Millwood
Seawood - Seawood Avenue
South Sackville - Between the lower half of Sackville Drive and Glendale Drive, also includes Chandler Peninsula
Stonemount - Stonemount Drive
Sunnyvale - Sunnyvale Crescent
West Sackville - Riverside Drive
Walker Area - Walker Avenue

Some neighbourhoods of Lower Sackville are also known by their tendency to use street names starting with the same letter:
"C" Section: Cavalier Dr, Cavendish Dr, Cartier Cres, Cabot Cres, Crimson Dr
"L" Section: Lennox Dr, Lumsden Cres, Lynville Dr, Lydgate Dr
"N" Section: Nordic Cres, Neilly Dr, Nappan Dr, Newcombe Dr, Nictaux Dr
"P" Section: Polara Dr, Polara Ct, Phoenix Cres
"Q" Section: Quaker Cres, Quinn Dr, Queens Ct
"R" Section: Rogers Dr, Rankin Dr, Riverside Dr, Rothesay Ct
"S" Section: Smokey Dr, Stokil Dr, Sampson Dr, Saratoga Dr, Saturn Dr, Spinner Cres, Sappire Cres

Other streets are named after the Fathers of Canadian confederation: Brown, Cartier, Chandler, Chapais, Cockburn, Coles, Dickie, Haviland, Howland, Johnson, Langevin, MacDougall, McGee, Mowat, Nelson, Pope, Shea, Steeves, Tache, Tilley, Tilloch, and Wilmot.

Parks and recreation

Arenas
Sackville Community Arena
Sackville Sports Stadium

Community centres
Acadia Centre
Kinsmen Community Centre
Sackville Heights Community Centre

Library
Sackville Public Library

Museums
Fultz House

Parks
Acadia Park
Sackville Lakes Provincial Park

Pools
Sackville Sports Stadium

Trails
Bedford-Sackville Connector

Demographics
The only demographic information that pertains to Lower Sackville is provided by Halifax Regional Council, and pertains to District 15 (Lower Sackville). District 15 (Lower Sackville) has 21,379 people living within its boundaries. However, the community itself does not have any recent demographic information.

Economy
Lower Sackville has experienced ribbon/strip-style commercial development along Trunk 1 since the 1960s. Current retail chains include Canadian Tire, Cleve's Sporting Goods, Dollarama, Giant Tiger, Sobeys, and Atlantic Superstore. There are numerous independent restaurants-and-retailers located in this area as well. Most of the restaurants in the area are of the fast food variety, as well as other establishments that serve various cuisines.

Transportation
The community is located northwest of the Halifax-Dartmouth urban core. Highway 101, Highway 102, Route 354, and Trunk 1 (called Sackville Drive within Lower Sackville) are highways that connect the community to the rest of the urban area, or beyond.

Lower Sackville is serviced by many Halifax Transit routes. The agency operates two transit terminals in the community: Cobequid Terminal in the south, and Sackville Terminal in the north.

Halifax Transit routes

 Route 8 (Sackville)
 Route 82 (First Lake)
 Route 83 (Springfield)
 Route 84 (Glendale)
 Route 85 (Millwood)
 Route 86 (Beaver Bank)
 Route 87 (Sackville-Dartmouth)
 Route 88 (Bedford Commons)
 Route 93 (Bedford Highway)
 Route 182 (First Lake Express)
 Route 183 (Springfield Express)
 Route 185 (Millwood Express)
 Route 186 (Beaver Bank Express)

Education
Lower Sackville has nine schools including five elementary schools, three junior high schools, and one high school. They are all administered by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.

Elementary schools
 Caudle Park Elementary
 Cavalier Drive School
 Hillside Park Elementary
 Smokey Drive Elementary
 Sycamore Lane Elementary

Junior high schools
 A.J. Smeltzer Junior High
 Leslie Thomas Junior High
 Sackville Heights Junior High

High schools
 Sackville High School

Notable people
 Charles Fenerty, inventor of newsprint made from wood pulp.
Corey LeRue, musician in Canadian Pop Band Neon Dreams.
 Brad Marchand, NHL player for the Boston Bruins. (Originally from Lower Sackville but grew up in Upper Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia)
 Adrian Morris, musician in Canadian Pop Band Neon Dreams.
 Nikki Payne, award-winning stand-up comedian and contestant on the 2006 edition of NBC television's reality show Last Comic Standing. Also, frequent juror on MuchMusic's show Video on Trial.  She attended Millwood High School.
 James Sheppard, NHL player for the New York Rangers.

References

Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia