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ACADIAN HERITAGE

Acadian Vignettes of Hants County, Nova Scotia

Village Rivest (Mount Denson)

The family of Etienne Rivest were among the first Acadians to live in this area. The first mill on the Halfway River, then called Rivière Cacaguit, is believed to have been an Acadian grist mill.

Village Babin (Falmouth)

Members of the Babin family lived in this area in the late 1680s. The Avon River was called Pigiguit by the Acadians. Originally included in Assumption Parish, this side of the river became the Saint Famille Parish in 1722.

Sainte Famille Cemetery (419 Gabriel Road, Falmouth)

After the deportation, this cemetery was soon forgotten, although local residents still spoke of its existence. In the summer of 1996 human remains were discovered. An archaeological dig, carried out by the Nova Scotia Museum, established the boundaries of the cemetery which contains an estimated 300 graves. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nsgrdpre/stefamille/index.htm

Village Forest (Sainte Famille Winery)

The village was located along the ridges behind the winery. Before the Acadian dykes were built you would have had wet feet if you stood on Dyke Road at high tide.

Acadian Forest Farm (Mines Road)

Local residents believe that the stone cellars along the west branch of the Avon River are the ruins of an Acadian village.The oldest apple trees are believed to be the original orchards planted by Acadians.

Village Pierre Landry (Castle Frederick)

The Landry family settled here in the early 1700s. A holy well, several Acadian cellars and evidence of a mill are still visible. Descendants of J F W DesBarres have owned the land since 1763.

Village Pierre Germain Landry (Windsor Forks)

The family of Pierre Germain Landry settled in this area in the early 1690s.

Village Abraham Landry (Gudgeon Brook, Route 14)

The family of Abraham Landry and Marie Guilbaut were living along Gudgeon Brook in the early 1700s. The dykes at the mouth of the brook, first built by Acadians, were maintained until 1968 when the Windsor causeway was built.

Village Breaux (Lebreau Brook, Route 14)

Members of the Breaux family lived along Lebreau Creek. There were Acadian dykes at the mouth of the creek and a grist mill at the head of the tide.

L’Eglise de l’Assomption (King Street, Windsor)

It is believed that a Jesuit missionary built a church in this area around 1698. When the church burned around 1752 a building at Fort Edward was used as a Mass House for Acadians.

Village Trahan (Three Mile Plains)

Members of the Trahan family were living near the head of Lebreau Brook in the early 1690s. The family name indicates that the ancestors of these Acadians were silk makers or “trahandiers.”

Sainte Croix (St. Croix)

Acadians dyked the marshes and were living in this area in the early 1700s. There was a sawmill and a grist mill in this vicinity . The Battle of St. Croix was fought here in 1750.

Village Leblanc (Wentworth Road)

Members of the LeBlanc family dyked the marshes on this side of the river. At low tide Acadians were able to ford the river without getting their knees wet.

Cinq Maisons (Wentworth Road / Cemetery Road)

This village was named for the five Acadian houses which were here before 1755. They were located to the west of the Sainte Croix River at the foot of the distinctive “Battle Hill.”

Village Vincent (Mantua)

Members of the Vincent family are believed to have settled here in the early 1690s. The dykes, originally built by Acadians, continue to protect the fields from the high tides in these rivers.

Village Thibodeau (Poplar Grove)

This village was founded in the early 1690s by Pierre Thibodeau and Anne Bourg. There is evidence of acadian dykes on the marshes and a grist mill on a nearby stream. The Shaw family has owned the land since 1760.
You Can Go Home Again - Thibodeau Reunion CMA 2004

Avondale / Newport Landing

In Captain John Hamilton’s 1753 painting of Fort Edward, there are Acadian houses across the river. Local residents speak of Acadian cellars throughout this area.

Kennetcook River

(Route 215) Acadian settlers dyked and drained the marshes all along this river. Local residents speak of Acadian cellars as far upriver as Stanley.

Cogmagun River (Cogmagun Road, Walton Woods Road)

About 200 Acadians lived along this river and many were buried in this cemetery before 1755. There may have been a mill at the head of the tide.

Summerville (Route 215)

Until the 1940s Big Creek was known as Cajun Creek and Marsters Road was Cajun Creek Road. Local residents speak of Acadian cellars still evident in this area.

Village des Chevarie (Cheverie, Route 215)

According to an old poem, a Chevarie family member was the first person to fell a tree in this village. There is evidence that Acadian dykes once protected the marshes along Cheverie Creek.

Petite Rivière (Walton, Route 215)

Walton was known to Acadians as Petite or Petite Rivière. A 1754 map shows four Acadian houses on the east side of the river. Local residents say there was a French cemetery in the village.

La Grande Anse (Tennecape, Route 215)

“Big Cove” was the Acadian name for Tennecape. 18th century records show two Acadian houses on the east side of the cove near some good marshland formerly dyked and drained.

Village Noël (Noel, Route 215)

It is believed that this village was named after Noël Doiron who lived here in the 1730s. Before 1755 about a dozen families lived here, making it the largest Acadian village in this area.

Village Robert (Selma/Maitland, Route 215)

Members of the Henry family, also known as Robert, were living in this area by 1701. There were Acadian dykes on the marshes and a grist mill on a nearby stream.

Mission Sainte-Anne (Shubenacadie, Route 215)

There was an old Mi’kmaq encampment near here. By the 1720’s Father Gaulin had established an ‘Indian masshouse’ in this area, the Mission Sainte-Anne. Abbé LeLoutre served here after 1738.
More information about Mission Sainte-Anne

Shubenacadie River (Route 2, Route 215)

This river was part of a Mi’kmaq and Acadian route from the Bay of Fundy through 115 lakes and rivers to Halifax Harbour. The Shubenacadie Canal, constructed in the mid 1800s, is a National Historic Civil Engineering Site.