Mont Blanc Anchor Site

The heritage value of the Mont Blanc Anchor Site lies in its commemoration of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 when the “Mont-Blanc,” an ammunitions vessel, collided with the Norwegian relief ship “Imo.” Over 2,000 people died, and an additional 5,000 were injured as a direct result of the explosion classifying the event as the largest manmade explosion prior to Hiroshima. The explosion projected the 1140 pound anchor shaft of the “Mont Blanc” approximately two and one half miles from the point of the explosion, a fact which attests to the power of the explosion. It should be noted that the shaft has been relocated several times on the Edmonds Ground Estate for various reasons. The site of the monument is not the original location where the shaft landed.

Other heritage value is derived from the fact that the anchor landed on the Edmonds Grounds Estate which was commandeered by the authorities after the explosion, as a sheltering area for many of the people of lost their homes and belongings to the disaster. Many of these people wintered on this site in the Edmonds family summer cottages and in tents on the grounds.