Preserving and promoting the history of Nova Scotia

About the Society

The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society was founded in 1878. The society meets monthly from September to May, inclusive to hear and to discuss individual papers about personalities, places and events integral to the history of Nova Scotia. Monthly meetings are held at 7:00 pm in the Lindsay Children’s Room on the 2nd floor at the Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Learn more

Special Statement: RNSHS Letter to Provincial Goverment

The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society has issued a formal letter to the provincial government expressing deep concern over proposed cuts to heritage programming and the potential closure of twelve provincial museums. Highlighting its 148-year commitment to preserving Nova Scotia's history, the Society argues that these institutions are foundational to the province's identity and that their loss would disproportionately impact the vitality and economic sustainability of rural communities. Under the motto Futura in Historia Vivet (The Future Will Live in History), the RNSHS urges the government to reconsider these decisions and pursue a collaborative plan that safeguards the shared heritage of all Nova Scotians. We will share our letter here soon.

Upcoming Lecture 

Anna and the Art School:  Anna Leonowens and the Founding of Halifax’s Victoria School of Art and Design, 1887-1897, Part 1

Wednesday, March 18th, 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.

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.

Union Bank, Hollis St., Halifax, NS, ca. 1872; first location, Victoria School of Art and Design