- Cape Breton Island
- Louisburg Fortress (Ghost Town) and Sydney, Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
- Chasing tides in New Brunswick
- Southern Nova Scotia
One of the things we wanted to see while in Nova Scotia was Louisbourg Fortress, a reconstructed historic site that serves as a living history museum, re-enacting life as it would have been for the French soldiers and townspeople in 1745. The drive over was lovely, with roads that wind through islands, waterways, and picturesque villages. You also have to run the gauntlet of local artisans’ shops that are dotted on both sides of the highway. We almost made it through unscathed, but got caught up at a glass studio where we ultimately bought a multi-layered fused glass nature scene which sits in a birch log (a nice memento of the area). We also stopped at the Gaelic College (http://gaeliccollege.edu) that promotes and preserves traditional Gaelic culture (er, at least the Nova Scotian, Scottish variant of Gaelic culture). It turns out that people from around the world come here to learn various aspects of their historical culture. We learned a lot talking with the ladies there.
Anyway, we ended up staying in Sydney, a “population centre” (it used to be a city but was dissolved and embedded into the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.– sort of like the Borg…) on a large harbor that is trying to rebrand itself as a tourist destination after the coal mines closed and the steel industry went away. Today, it is a cruise ship stop (especially popular with “leaf peepers” in the Fall). It is also home to the FIDHEAL MHOR A’ CEILIDH, the world’s largest fiddle, standing 60 feet tall. We actually met a restaurant server whose father led the construction. They are quite proud of their fiddle and see it as a representation of the Celtic culture they champion in the region. Apparently, the fiddle plays a medley of Ceilidh hits, but it was silent when we were there. By the way, as an editorial comment, for the strong Celtic culture that Cape Breton Island espouses, we have yet to hear any live Celtic music (“oh, that’s on the weekends,” “we’re not in season yet” — personally, I think there are double secret Ceilidhs going on around us and we just can’t find them).
So, on to Louisbourg. The Fortress there is the largest reconstruction project ever undertaken in North America. The original settlement was founded in 1713 by the French and developed over several decades into a thriving center for fishing and trade. Fortified against the threat of British invasion during the turbulent time of empire-building, Louisbourg was besieged twice before finally being destroyed in the 1760s. It turns out that the location of the fortress was pretty secure from an ocean attack, but much less so from the land and the harbor — a fact that the British took advantage of — twice! Anyway, after the last conquest, the now British settlement moved along the harbor and the fortress site lay pretty much untouched until the 1900s, when archaeologists began to examine it and a historical society started some small-scale reconstruction. When the coal mines shut down and unemployment ballooned, however, one of the “city fathers” came up with the idea to fully restore a section of the historic site, using the original plans from France and the local workforce. Of course, the idea of the restoration didn’t come without controversy. Many French Canadians didn’t like the idea of commemorating a location that represented a defeat for them. But ultimately, it was recognized that this was a significant historical site for Canada and the work proceeded. The restoration took nearly 20 years and what exists as the fortress today is only about 20% of the original community.
During peak season, this is truly a living history museum. There are dozens of people of all ages who are costumed and carry out all the daily functions of what was a typical “day in the life” of the settlement. Being before the season, there was only one person in costume and he was there for a special tour (we think from a cruise ship). Consequently, it was a bit like walking around a ghost town — but a very attractive ghost town! Even though nearly everything was a reproduction, it was done so authentically that it felt quite real. I think we would like to come back some day, just to see the reenactment.
The next day we took a long, rainy drive to catch the ferry to Prince Edward Island. Since we were a few hours early for the trip, we stopped at the nearby town of Pictou, or as they describe it, “The Birthplace of New Scotland.” I guess that there had been some earlier Scots that migrated to Nova Scotia, but this was really the first voyage that was mostly made up of Scots. This transit was in 1773 on a ship (that should have never made the voyage) called the Hector. A large number of Scots were leaving the Highlands those days following their defeat at the hands of the British. In this case, people paid a hefty some of money with the promise of safe passage, a grubstake on their arrival and some good farmland. They really got none of those things — the ship nearly foundered and 30 people (mostly kids) died, there was no food or supplies waiting for them, and the good farmland turned out to be forest. But other than that, things were great. Anyway, a local nonprofit created a museum and built a reproduction of the Hector. It was an enlightening, but somewhat depressing stop.
Off to Prince Edward Island!
This entry was posted in Canada, Nova Scotia, Travel, Uncategorized
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
