Beaubears Island (french: Île Boishébert) is an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
at the confluence of the
Northwest Miramichi and
Southwest Miramichi River
The Southwest Miramichi River is a river in New Brunswick, Canada.
The river has its origin in Carleton County, at Miramichi Lake in the Miramichi Highlands (a part of the Appalachian Mountains). Its two branches join near the hamlet of Junipe ...
s near
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi () is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...
. The island is most famous for being the site of an Acadian refugee camp during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. The camp was under the command of leader of the Acadian resistance to the
expulsion
Expulsion or expelled may refer to:
General
* Deportation
* Ejection (sports)
* Eviction
* Exile
* Expeller pressing
* Expulsion (education)
* Expulsion from the United States Congress
* Extradition
* Forced migration
* Ostracism
* Persona non ...
,
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot.
The island is home to two
National Historic Sites:
# Beaubears Island Shipbuilding National Historic Site and
# Boishébert National Historic Site
The shipbuilding site occupies the eastern end of the island, while the Boishébert site comprises the rest of the island and adjacent Wilson's Point. The Wilson's Point portion is a New Brunswick provincial historic site, owned by the province and, while not national park land, Wilson's Point is part of the designated National Historic Site. With the exception of Wilson's Point, both sites are administered by
Parks Canada
Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
in collaboration with the Friends of Beaubears Island. The sites retain 200-year-old
Eastern White Pine
''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes ...
s; thus the parks are significant from the perspectives of both human and
natural history.
History
Prior to
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
settlement in the region, the
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
people camped on the island.
Boishébert and the Acadians
During the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
,
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot led the Acadian and Mi`kmaq resistance to the
Expulsion of the Acadians
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...
. Toward this end, to help Acadians evade capture, Boishébert set up an Acadian refugee camp on the Island. The Camp was named Camp de l' Esperance. The camp lasted between 1756 - 1759.
After
Louisbourg fell on 26 July 1758, French officer
Boishébert withdrew, with the British in pursuit. Boishebert brought back a large number of Acadians from the region around Port-Toulouse (
St. Peter's, Nova Scotia
St. Peter's (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Pheadair''; formerly known as "Santo Pedro", "Saint-Pierre", "Port Toulouse", and "St. Peters") is a small incorporated village located on Cape Breton Island in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
This ...
) to the security of his post at Beaubears Island on the Miramichi River.
During the
Ile Saint-Jean Campaign and the
St. John River Campaign
The St. John River campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest v ...
the number of Acadian refugees increased dramatically. The camp had eventually 900 French refugees. Over 200 of the refugees died at the camp. During the war, the camp was protected by a battery of 16 French cannons at
French Fort Cove.
During the
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign, on September 15, 1758, Brigadier James Murray was at Miramichi and discovered that there were many Acadian refugees at a settlement about ten
leagues up the Miramichi River which had fled during the
Ile Saint-Jean Campaign. According to Murray, all of the Acadians were starving. They had sent most of their effects on to Canada and expected so to go there themselves.
[Earle Lockerby, p. 55]
Beaubears (Boishébert) Island and nearby Wilson's Point (a.k.a. Beaubears Point or the Enclosure) together form Boishébert National Historic Site of Canada.
J. Leonard O'Brien and Shipbuilding
The first shipyard was established by
James Fraser and James Thom (1790). For the first half of the eighteenth century, the Fraser shipyard was considered the most important commercial establishment in New Brunswick. The 1850s were regarded as the golden age of Miramichi shipbuilding with yards in operation from Beaubears Island. Harley continued to build ships and in 1866 launched what is believed to be the last vessel constructed at Beaubears, the barque La Plata.
By the end of the 19th century, the island appears to have been deserted. It was acquired by the
O'Brien family in 1920 and willed to the government of Canada in 1973 following the death of
Joseph Leonard O'Brien
Joseph Leonard O'Brien (November 10, 1895 – June 18, 1973) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Born in South Nelson, New Brunswick, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1925 to 1930 and was Speaker of ...
, a
former lieutenant governor of New Brunswick.
Beaubears Island Shipbuilding National Historic Site of Canada, also known as J. Leonard O'Brien Memorial, is the only known, undisturbed archaeological site associated with the national significance of the 19th century wooden shipbuilding industry in New Brunswick. In accordance with O'Brien's wishes, the island was willed to Parks Canada and remains an integral part of Canadian history as a whole.
Affiliations
The Museum is affiliated with:
CMA,
CHIN
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
, and
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
.
See also
*
List of communities in New Brunswick
This is a list of communities in New Brunswick, a province in Canada. For the purposes of this list, a community is defined as either an incorporated municipality, an Indian reserve, or an unincorporated community inside or outside a municipalit ...
*
List of islands of New Brunswick
This is a list of islands of New Brunswick. The province of New Brunswick is composed of mainland New Brunswick and is lined with islands of various magnitudes.
List of islands
See also
*List of islands of Canada
*Geography of New Brunswi ...
References
External links
*http://www.beaubearsisland.ca/
Ship Building - National Historic Site
{{coord, 46, 58, 18, N, 65, 34, 27, W, type:isle_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title
Geography of Northumberland County, New Brunswick
National Historic Sites in New Brunswick
Acadian history
Conflicts in Nova Scotia
River islands of New Brunswick
Tourist attractions in Northumberland County, New Brunswick