Grand-Pré National Historic Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grand-Pré National Historic Site |
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Statue of Longfellow's Evangeline (by Louis-Philippe Hébert) and memorial church (by René-Arthur Fréchet)
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| Location | Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Official name: Landscape of Grand Pré | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | v, vi |
| Designated | 2012 (36th session) |
| Reference no. | 1404 |
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Official name: Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated | 1982 |
| Official name: Grand-Pré Rural Historic District National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated | 1995 |
| Type | Heritage Conservation District |
| Designated | 1999 |
| Reference no. | 29MNS0002 |
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The Grand-Pré National Historic Site is a special park in Nova Scotia, Canada. It remembers the Acadian people who lived in the Grand-Pré area from 1682 to 1755. It also marks the sad time when the British forced the Acadians to leave their homes. This event is known as the deportation or "Grand Dérangement."
The original village of Grand-Pré stretched about four kilometers. It was located between what are now Wolfville and Hortonville. Today, Grand-Pré is a World Heritage Site. It is also a key part of two National Historic Sites of Canada.
Contents
History of Acadian Settlement
Grand-Pré means "great meadow" in French. It is located by the Minas Basin, an area with lots of tidal marshland. The first settlers arrived around 1680. They were Pierre Melanson and his family from Port-Royal. Port-Royal was the first capital of the French settlement of Acadia.
Pierre Melanson and other Acadians built special walls called dykes. These dykes held back the strong tides of the Minas Basin. This helped them create rich pastures for their animals. They also made fertile fields for growing crops. Grand-Pré became very important for food in Acadia. It grew bigger than Port-Royal. By the mid-1700s, it was the largest Acadian community.
Conflicts and Changes
During Queen Anne's War, in 1704, a British major named Benjamin Church attacked Grand-Pré. He burned the entire village. After the war, in 1713, part of Acadia became Nova Scotia. Port-Royal was renamed Annapolis Royal and became the capital.
For the next 40 years, the Acadians refused to sign a special promise. This promise was an unconditional oath of loyalty to the British king. Some Acadians worried about losing their religion. Others feared their Native allies might get upset. Some did not want to fight against the French. Many were simply against the British.
During King George's War, the French tried many times to take back Acadia. The British tried to control the Bay of Fundy area. But local Acadians, Mi'kmaq, and Canadiens defeated them in the Battle of Grand Pre.
Father Le Loutre's War started when the British built Halifax in 1749. Halifax became the new capital. The British also built Fort Vieux Logis at Grand-Pré. But a group of Mi'kmaq and Acadian militia attacked this fort in the Siege of Grand Pre.
The Great Deportation
During the French and Indian War, the British wanted to stop any military threat from the Acadians. They also wanted to cut off supplies the Acadians sent to the French fort at Louisbourg and the Mi'kmaq. So, they decided to deport the Acadians from Acadia.
After the Battle of Fort Beauséjour, the British began the removal of the Acadians. On August 19, 1755, Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow arrived in Grand-Pré with his soldiers. He set up his headquarters in the local church. Winslow also built a fence around the area.
On September 5, all the men and boys were ordered into the church. Winslow told them that everything they owned, except their personal belongings, would be taken by the British. He also said they and their families would be sent away as soon as ships arrived. Many villages were burned to the ground. This was to make sure the Acadians could not return.
More than 6,000 Acadians were deported from the Bay of Fundy region in the first year. Thousands more were deported later from Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. The deportation continued until 1763, when England and France made peace. In total, about 12,000 Acadians were deported. Many Acadians died from drowning, hunger, being held prisoner, or from the cold.
Evangeline's Story
In 1847, a poem called Evangeline was published by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This poem told the story of the Deportation and the "Grand Dérangement" to the English-speaking world. Grand-Pré had been forgotten for almost 100 years. But after the poem, it became popular for American tourists. They wanted to visit the home of Evangeline, the poem's main character.
However, nothing was left of the original village. Only the dykes and a line of old willow trees remained. There is a statue of Henry W. Longfellow at the site. In 2018, a Canadian writer named A. J. B. Johnston wrote a young adult novel called The Hat. It was inspired by what happened at Grand-Pré in 1755. This book focuses on two fictional children, Marie and Charles.
Protecting the Site
Early Efforts
In 1907, John Frederic Herbin bought the land believed to be where the church of Saint-Charles once stood. Herbin was a poet, historian, and jeweler, and his mother was Acadian. He wanted to protect the site. The next year, a law was passed to create the Trustees of the Grand-Pré Historic Grounds. Herbin built a stone cross on the site. He used stones he believed were from old Acadian buildings. This cross marked the church's cemetery.
The Dominion Atlantic Railway
Herbin sold the property to the Dominion Atlantic Railway in 1917. He made sure that Acadians would be involved in protecting the site. The railway already used Acadian history to attract tourists. The Grand-Pré site was right next to their main train line. The railway invested a lot of money to develop the park. They planted large gardens and opened a small museum.
In 1920, the Dominion Atlantic Railway put up a statue of Evangeline. It was created by Canadian sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert. After his death, his son Henri finished it. The railway also gave some land and money to build a memorial church at Grand-Pré. Construction started in 1922. The outside was finished by November. The inside was completed in 1930. This was 175 years after the Deportation. The church then opened as a museum.
Parks Canada Takes Over
As fewer people traveled by train, the Dominion Atlantic Railway sold the park. The Canadian federal government bought it in 1957. The Canadian Parks Service then took over running the park. In 1982, it was named a National Historic Site. The Visitor Center has exhibits about the history of Grand-Pré and Acadia. A video tells the story of the Acadian deportation.
Discoveries by Archaeologists
Grand-Pré National Historic Site is also a place where archaeologists work. They are sponsored by St. Mary’s University, Parks Canada, and Sociéte Promotion Grand-Pré. Since 1971, archaeologists have been digging here. They found the Acadian cemetery and the basement of an Acadian house. This house was next to the Memorial Church.
They also looked for signs of the old parish church, St-Charles-des-Mines. They found many Acadian items. These include pieces of pottery, nails, wine bottle glass, and window glass. They also found a French silver coin from 1711, spoons, belt buckles, buttons, and clay pipes. There is also evidence that New England soldiers lived there. And there are signs of the New England Planters who settled there starting in 1760.
Important Designations
The "Landscape of Grand Pré" became a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on June 30, 2012. It had been on Canada's list of possible sites since 2004. The site includes 1300 hectares (about 3200 acres) of marshland and old archaeological sites. It was recognized as a great example of how early European settlers adapted to the Atlantic coast of North America. It also serves as a reminder of the Acadian way of life and their deportation.
In 1982, the Grand-Pré memorial park was named the "Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada." This was 300 years after the first Acadians arrived in the area in 1682. This designation remembers the Acadian settlement and their later deportation.
In 1995, the site and the area around it were named the "Grand-Pré Rural Historic District National Historic Site of Canada." This honors the rural landscape. It shows one of the oldest patterns of land use by Europeans in Canada.
The "Grand Pré Heritage Conservation District" was named in 1999. This district includes the area in and around the small village of Grand-Pré. It also includes the Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada.
See also
- Nova Scotia Heritage Day
