Devils Island, Nova Scotia is located on the northeast entrance of Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

 off the coast of the Halifax Regional Municipality near the community of Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia

Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia

Eastern Passage is a Canadian urban community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.Located at the southeastern edge of Halifax Harbour, fronting the Atlantic Ocean, Eastern Passage derives its name from the narrow strait separating the mainland from McNabs Island and Lawlor Island, both...

. The name originated from an early French merchant and was first spelled Deville's Island. The first permanent settlement on this 12 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 island was established in 1830, and by 1850 there were three houses and a school. By 1901 the settlement had grown to 18 houses. A number of Devil's Island residents, notably Ben Henneberry, provided valuable folklore to pioneering Canadian folklorist Helen Creighton

Helen Creighton

Mary Helen Creighton, CM was a prominent Canadian folklorist. She collected over 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and myths in a career that spanned several decades, and she published many books and articles on Nova Scotia folk songs and folklore...

. Most of the residents were moved to the mainland during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The last permanent resident, a Norwegian artist, moved off in 2000. The island is currently owned by Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 entrepreneur Bill Mont. A lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 built in 1877, replacing an earlier tower built in 1852, is still standing but is not functional. The island was also the base for a rescue lifeboat

Lifeboat (rescue)

A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...

until the 1950s which saved the crews of many vessels stranded on the shoals approaching Halifax Harbour.