Halifax Explosion

On 6 December 1917, the Mont-Blanc munitions ship collided with the Imo in Halifax Harbour. The Mont-Blanc caught fire and subsequently exploded. The incident is called the Halifax Explosion, and it is largest man-made, non-nuclear explosion in history.

The family of James¹ Jackson and Elizabeth (Hallaran) Jackson was ravaged in the incident. Six of their children were killed in the blast, all of whom were married and all had children who were also killed in the blast and the fires that followed. More than 40 members of the family lost their lives. James¹ Jackson was the son of James⁰ Jackson and Hannah (Bezanson) Jackson.

Map

The map below is a section of the Plan Showing Devastated Area of Halifax City, N.S. available on the Nova Scotia Archives site. It shows the locations of six homes occupied by members of the Jackson family, all of which were within 1200 feet of the Mont-Blanc when it exploded.

The Mont-Blanc caught fire after colliding with the Imo near pier 8. The crew abandoned ship after recognizing that they could not control the fires and an explosion was imminent. The unmanned ship drifted near pier 6, the location indicated by the "X".

1. 5 Duffus Street – The home of Edward Jackson and his family.
2. 224 Campbell Road – The home of Ada (Jackson) Moore and her family, as well as the family of her sister Emma (Jackson) Baker.
3. 220 Campbell Road – The home of Margaret (Jackson) McDonald and her family.
4. 1 Roome Street – The home of John Jackson and his family, William Jackson and his family, and also Elizabeth (Hallaran) Jackson, their mother.
5. 18 Duffus Street – The home of James² Jackson and his family. James² survived, but his wife Margaret Topping and two of his children died.
6. 66 Veith Street – The home of Mary (Jackson) Hinch and her family. Mary survived, but her husband and ten of her children did not.

The full map on at the Nova Scotia Archives includes a legend that describes the red, blue, and orange borders used to categorize the damage to buildings. Red represents "burned ruins" and all six homes are enclosed in red borders.

The map uses old street names. In 1917, Pleasant Street, Lockman Street and Campbell Road were combined and renamed Barrington Street. In the Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book, 220 Campbell Road is described as 1498 Barrington Street, and 224 Campbell Road is described as 1496 Barrington Street.

It's hard to imagine that another Halifax family had the fatal misfortune of having six homes located so close to ground zero.

A few family members were not at home at the time of the explosion. Unfortunately, several of them were working in the railroad yard or the docks and were even closer to the explosion than the homes listed above. Brothers Edward Jackson, Frederick Jackson, and William Jackson were working at a nearby pier. Their bodies were never found. William lived at 7 Merkel Street and his family survived the explosion.

Florence Jackson, age 13, was supposed to be on her way to school, but she took a detour to get a closer look at the ship that was on fire. Her body was never found.