Brookside Hall

Once a cookhouse, then a community hall — now a place of restoration, reflection, and return.

Brookside Hall is a small but storied building located at 45 Sunset Drive in Watt Section, Nova Scotia. For much of the 20th century, it served as a beloved gathering place for the local community — a place where people danced, dined, voted, celebrated, and came together. Before that, it is believed to have been a cookhouse for workers at the East River sawmill — floated down the river by residents and reborn as a hub of village life.

In 2025, I acquired Brookside Hall through a distress sale, drawn by its rich bones and forgotten story. Beneath the siding and wear, I found a structure with soul — and a clear sense that it still had something to offer.

A Living Restoration in Watt Section, Nova Scotia
A Samadhi World Project

The Restoration

Brookside Hall is currently undergoing a careful, respectful restoration — not just to make it livable, but to bring it alive again.

My hope is to rebuild the kitchen as a tribute to the original cookhouse — not fancy, but functional, warm, and welcoming. Over time, I envision this space being used for:

  • Small group retreats

  • Meditation and mindfulness practice

  • Qigong, yoga, and breath-based movement

  • Writing and creative residencies

  • Quiet restoration of body and spirit

This is not a commercial venue. It’s a living experiment in regeneration — of structure, story, and spirit.

A Glimpse of the Past

Brookside Hall sits near the site of some of Sheet Harbour’s earliest industry. In 1885, Canada’s first sulphite pulp mill operated just upriver. By 1917, the Lewis shipyard launched 4-masted schooners from this same shoreline. And by 1955, the cookhouse had become Brookside Hall, relocated beside the brook and extended with a kitchen and bathrooms to serve a growing community.

Though the dance floor is now quiet, its memory remains.

What Comes Next?

Brookside Hall is a project rooted in place-based healing — aligned with the broader mission of Samadhi World: to regenerate what’s been lost, steward what’s still good, and imagine what might be possible.

Whether as a retreat space, a studio for inner work, or simply a place to pause —
Brookside Hall is being reawakened, one board and breath at a time.

Follow along as the restoration unfolds.