Grand Pre’ – Thurs. 6/27/19 – Holbrooks on the Horizon

Grand Pre’ is located on the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Basin in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.

It was a farming settlement created in the 1680s by the Acadians in the intertidal area. The Acadians used dykes, aboideaux (wooden sluices) a drainage network, and a community-based network that is still in use today. They farmed the land, and fished in the bay. After they dyked off a section of land it took 3 years to be able to work the land – to desalinate the soil. Overall, they were a peaceful community.

Looking over the dykes.
Mill.
Snowshoes – they weighed about 3 lbs. each!
Well water using a lever.
Looking over the field where the gardens would be.
Same – this is where the gardens would be.
This church was added so they had a place to gather.
The gardens can be seen easier here.
This is the site where the deportation took place.
This is the remaines of an elm tree that was there during the deportation. It was struck by lightning.
The reminents of the dock at the deportation site.
Look closely you can see a dyke.
The bay.

Grand Pre’ became a place of contention between the British and the French. Both wanted it for their own. Eventually, the British ended up with the land and between the years 1755 and 1763 nearly 10,000 Acadians,who originally came from France, were deported to the lower lands (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and even Louisiana) and some were sent back to England. Some ships sank on their voyages. It was a really sad time in history.

Grand Pre’ is a place of remembrance for the Acadians of their deportation and expulsion in the second half of the 18^th century. Grand Pre’ reminds the people that the Acadians lived in peace and harmony with the Mi’kmaq Indians.

Parks Canada had a competition for a 6-panel depiction of the life of the Acadians. Claude T. Picard won the contest and painted the 6 panels. These panels are probably 4’x3’. Unfortunately, Mr. Picard passed in 2012.