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Welcome to Historic
Fort Point
By Rob Sangster
Before beginning your walk on beautiful Fort
Point, imagine that today's date is
May 8, 1604. Look southwest across Dublin Bay
toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Beyond the islands you may see the good ship
Le Don de Dieu as it drops
anchor for the first time in the New World.
Samuel de Champlain, the man
who would change Europe's understanding of
this vast continent, stands
on the foredeck sketching the first of his famous maps.
Do you see him waving to you?
His mission soon took him onward but he was
so impressed with the LaHave
area that he was instrumental in it being chosen
by King Louis XIII to be the
site of the
First Capital of New France.
In 1632, Isaac de Razilly, French General
and Viceroy, landed at Fort Point
on the beautiful LaHave, the largest river
in Nova Scotia, and carried out
the command of his king.
The
view. To the east, across the river, you
see Ritcey Bay and the
lovely village of Riverport. Farther south
along the far shore are Oxners
Beach and a grassy saltmarsh. This area served
as a
meadow for Razilly's cattle.
To the south, across Dublin Bay, are East
and West Spectacle islands.
Behind them is the much larger Mosher Island
with its pleasant beach
and ever-vigilant lighthouse. Farther away,
a little to the west, are
the LaHave Islands, part of the cluster of
islands that shelter the
mouth of the LaHave River from the pounding
force of the
Atlantic Ocean.
Fort
Ste. Marie de Grace. To see the fort,
you must rely more on your
imagination than your eyesight. As you stand
on the bluff on the southern
edge of the property, you are near the northern
wall of the fort. At low
tide, look for a rocky triangle extending into
Dublin Bay that may
have been part of the old fort's foundation.
Inside the sturdy brick, timber and stone
walls that protected Razilly and his
garrison were a well, a powder magazine, and
various residential, storage
and administrative buildings. A wooden cross
rose high above the walls.
The fort was destroyed by fire in 1654 and
lay in ruins for many generations.
Over time, its fine stones were probably carted
away to become part
of the foundations of various structures built
on Fort Point and the
west bank of the river.
More devastating was the slow grip of the
sea relentlessly eroding the point
itself, drawing the remnants of the fort to
its sandy bottom. Some of the
old bricks found on the shore are on display
in the museum. Finally,
in 1991, the great boulders you see were put
in place
as a sea wall to stabilize the site.
Now it's time to walk toward
The lighthouse. For many years, a working lighthouse
stood on this site
to guide great four-masted sailing ships in
and out of the LaHave River.
Loaded with lumber, fish, and other goods,
they delivered their cargoes
to merchants in New England, the West Indies,
Europe, even as far
away as New Zealand. The building housing the
museum is an
expanded version of the last lighthouse keeper's
home.
In the 1950s, the original traditional lighthouse
was removed and replaced
by a modern automatic light built on a steel
skeleton frame. In 1990,
the present structure was built as a reminder
of the original.
Let's walk over to
The
Cairn. Erected by the National Historic
Sites and Monuments Board,
it commemorates the establishment of Fort Sainte-Marie-de-Grâce
by Isaac de Razilly on this site in 1632.
Cannon. Razilly tells us that he had 25 cannon
in place to defend his
settlement. The cannon you see, although not originals, are a
reminder of the realities of life in the 1630s. .
Now let's turn our attention to the north and
walk a few steps to the
French
Garden. Entered through a white trellis
near the northern edge
of the property, this formal garden is typical
of the seventeenth century
flower and herb gardens favored in French settlements
such as this one.
Apple
Trees. Scattered around the site are
apple trees representing those
planted by Razilly's followers. The small ones
have been newly grafted
from the larger ones nearer the beach. These
older trees are probably
offshoots of some of the original trees brought
by Razilly from France.
In 1701, Simon Denys de Bonnaventure wrote
that he had
drunk cider made from the fruit of these apple
trees.
Champlain roses. This beautiful family of roses
was named for
Samuel de Champlain who, with Pierre Dugua
de Monts, anchored
in Green Bay in 1604. He gave the name le Heve
(now LaHave)
to a cape on the island at the mouth of the
river. That name,
chosen in honour of Cap de la Hève in
Normandy, has
now become attached to the river, the islands
and several communities in the area.
Acadian
oven. A few steps to the west, you
will see a reconstruction
of an authentic oven of the type used by the
Acadians.
It is made of "bousillage", or cob,
a mixture of clay,
straw and gravel or coarse sand.
Palisade. This palisade, which now forms a
boundary between the
museum property and Fort Point Cemetery, is
similar to a palisade,
or piquet fence, that once formed part of the
defences of the fort.
Fort
Point Cemetery. The centre of the cemetery
is the location of the
chapel established for the Capuchin fathers
who arrived with Razilly
in 1632. Beyond tending to their own flock,
they worked hard to
establish good relationships with the two groups
of Mi'gmaq
already living in the LaHave area.
It is likely that a number of the first French
settlers were buried in the vicinity
of this chapel, making this one of the oldest
cemeteries in Canada.
Isaac de Razilly, almost certainly buried here
in 1636, may have been
interred directly under the chapel. A memorial
to Razilly was placed
on this spot in 1982, the 350th anniversary
of his arrival. Many of
the names on the tombstones you see today are
those of families
who were part of the major resettlement of
the LaHave area
after the time of Joseph Pernette subsequent
to 1765.
The
mysterious pond. This lovely lily pond,
in existence long before
Razilly's arrival, is now home to ducks, geese,
and the occasional beaver.
Legend says that when the settlement was expecting
an imminent attack
from British ships, the Capuchin fathers lowered
the most prized contents
of the chapel, including its bell, into the
pond for safekeeping.
None of these treasures has yet been recovered.
We hope you have enjoyed the treasures of
Fort Point
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