The State Library received the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee Records from the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety in March of 1921. The collection contains correspondence, reports on the Halifax disaster, and reports prepared by the Relief Committee. The collection also contains meeting minutes of the Committee’s Halifax Branch, sample documents and forms, and copies of thank you letters from Halifax residents who received aid from the Committee. Four blueprints and 79 photographs of the damage in Halifax and the subsequent reconstruction efforts round out the collection.
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| A glimpse into the exhibit, showing two of the six cases |
On the morning of December 6, 1917, two ships, the SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo, collided in Halifax Harbor. The Mont-Blanc, which was carrying munitions, caught fire. This led to an explosion and subsequent tsunami that devastated the Canadian city. When news of the explosion reached Massachusetts Governor Samuel McCall, he offered the mayor of Halifax immediate and unlimited assistance. In the weeks following, the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee was established and raised money to assist residents of Halifax who had lost their homes and all their belongings. Ultimately, the Committee raised over $500,000, furnished 1,800 homes, and raised an additional $25,000 in medical and educational funds for people blinded by the explosion.
The materials contained within the Relief Committee’s collection are profoundly moving, perhaps none more so than the letters of appreciation from Halifax residents.
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Exhibits Working Group
