The claim
A busy Halifax pub that takes its name from the Spread Eagle, the tavern John Shippey was licensed to open in 1749, the year Halifax was founded. Locals soon nicknamed that sign the Split Crow. Today's pub stands elsewhere downtown and revives the name rather than the building, with Maritime music, grog and hearty food.
What the records show
The pub cites a licence granted by Governor Cornwallis to John Shippey on 17 July 1749 for the Spread Eagle at Salter and Water Streets, the first liquor licence issued in Nova Scotia, and Discover Halifax tells the same story without a document behind it. Locals nicknamed the sign the Split Crow. The pub trading now stands elsewhere in the downtown, on Granville Street, and revives the name rather than the building; no continuous line from Shippey's tavern is documented. Discover Halifax adds what happened in that first summer: on 26 August 1749 Peter Cartcel stabbed Abraham Goodsides after an argument at the tavern, and the trial that followed is described as the first jury trial in Canada under British law. Cartcel was hanged two days later.
What to look for inside
- Claims Nova Scotia's first liquor licence (1749)
- Modern pub reviving an 18th-century name
Visiting
The Split Crow is in Halifax, Canada, at 1855 Granville Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1X8. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- www.splitcrow.com/history/
- www.ontariopubs.ca/PDF/pubMagazine/pubmagazine_2014_13_web.pdf
- discoverhalifaxns.com/food-drink/historic-pubs-that-tell-a-story/
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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