Beaubears Island (french: Île Boishébert) is an island at the confluence of the Northwest Miramichi and Southwest Miramichi Rivers near Miramichi, New Brunswick. The island is most famous for being the site of an Acadian refugee camp during the French and Indian War. The camp was under the command of leader of the Acadian resistance to the expulsion,

Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot Charles Deschamps de Boishébert (also known as Courrier du Bois, Bois Hebert) was a member of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine and was a significant leader of the Acadian militia's resistance to the Expulsion of the Acadians. He settled an ...

. 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 people camped on the island.

Boishébert and the Acadians

During the French and Indian War,

led the Acadian and Mi`kmaq resistance to the Expulsion of the Acadians. 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 The French Fort Cove is a nature park located in Miramichi, New Brunswick, between Newcastle and Nordin-Miramichi, which contains regular and advanced walking trails, canoeing, kayaking, paddle-boats, a children's playground, ice-cream shop and h ...

. 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.

References

External links