Harrietsfield - Sambro - Prospect - Terence Bay

The area known as the Chebucto Peninsula is made up of small coastal villages and communities including Portuguese Cove, Ketch Harbour, Sambro, East and West Pennant, Terrence Bay, Prospect, Shad Bay, and East and West Dover. These communities were traditionally thriving fishing villages and are rich in cultural heritage. Many communities have been recognized internationally for their arts and crafts, weaving, rug hooking, woodworking, folk artists, painting, and sculpture.

The Chebucto Peninsula is bordered by St. Margaret’s Bay in the west, the open Atlantic Ocean to the south, and Halifax Harbour (including Bedford Basin) to the east. The majority of the central part of the Chebucto Peninsula is uninhabited and designated a protected wilderness area to prevent encroaching urban sprawl development.

Harrietsfield is a rural residential community in the Western region of the Halifax Regional Municipality on the Old Sambro Road (Route 306) 10 kilometers from Downtown Halifax.
The community is named after the wife of Colonel William Thompson who lived in the area in the 1780s. In 1790, Casper Gruber arrived, and nine other families by 1827. The community's population has been increasing slowly because of easy access to Halifax via the Old Sambro Road.

The village of Prospect is located 22 kilometres outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia on the western shore of the Chebucto Peninsula. A strategically placed fishing out-post, the community has served as an important political, economic and religious centre over the course of the last 260 years. Founded by primarily Irish and English fishermen in the 1750s the families who settled here carved out a living among the rocky shores and the community continues to thrive today.

Sambro is a rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula located on the Atlantic Ocean at the head of Sambro Harbour. Three years after the founding of Halifax in 1752, 26 families settled and worked on Sambro Island after Governor Edward Cornwallis saw the need to populate the area with British settlers to prevent a French attack by sea. The community has evolved into a fishing and tourist community over the centuries, although many residents currently commute into Halifax for employment.

Terence Bay is a rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula. It is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, 10 km off the Prospect Road, off Route 333, 21.2 kilometers from Halifax. The area, which is located at the tip of the Chebucto Peninsula, was originally settled in the early 1880s or possibly before, probably by Irish fishermen. Early records for the area include the 1827 Census of Halifax and the parish register of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Roman Catholic), Prospect, whose entries begin in 1823 and include Terence Bay families. By the 1850s, the population of Terence Bay consisted mainly of the descendants of Irish and German immigrants to NS, many of whose descendants still reside there.

 Schools

ELEMENTARY

1. Sambro Elementary: Grades PP – 6

2. Harrietsfield Elementary: Grades PP – 6

3. Prospect Road Elementary: Grades PP – 5

4. Atlantic Memorial - Terence Bay Elementary: Grades PP – 5

JUNIOR HIGH

1. Herring Cove Junior High: Grades 7 – 9, including French Immersion

2. Brookside Junior High: Grades 6 – 9, including French Immersion

HIGH SCHOOL

1. J.L. Ilsley High: Grades 10 – 12, including French Immersion

2. Halifax West High: Grades 10 – 12, including French Immersion

 Recreation

In nearby Spryfield, the Captain William Spry Community Centre contains a swimming pool, library, community meeting rooms, basketball and soccer field, basketball and tennis courts, skate park, and skating rink.

Long Lake Provincial Park is much loved by residents for its natural beauty, including stunning waterfalls, and walking/hiking trails. The heavily forested area also makes it an excellent location for berry picking and bird watching. The areas many lakes are used for both swimming and non-motorized boating in the summer months.

The Prospect Road Community Centre is conveniently located within the community. The Centre is operated by the local, nonprofit community development association via a lease agreement with the Halifax Regional Municipality. The building offers many spaces to accommodate events and meeting spaces with a multipurpose room with optional bar rental, gymnasium, art room, fitness centre with both cardio and weights, and changing facilities complete with locker and shower access.