Chebogue () (formerly spelled Jebogue) is a small

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

situated above the marshes of the Chebogue River in

Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia Yarmouth County is a rural county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It has both traditional Anglo- Scottish and Acadian French culture as well as significant inland wilderness areas, including over 365 lakes and several major rivers. It co ...

. Farming and fishing are the two main resources in the area.

History

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 ...

gave it its name which means "big marshes" because of the 343 hectares (837 acres) of salt marshland along the Chebogue River beginning at

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. Other meanings for the area of Chebogue include "large tranquil river" and "narrow passage". Mi'kmaq stone tools were found nearby, dating from 5000 to 7000 years ago. Chebogue's known

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ...

began in 1614 with the establishment of a permanent

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. However the French explorer

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

, on a map dated 1607, has drawn buildings on both sides of a river which is probably the Chebogue River. That would make Chebogue the third oldest European settlement in Canada after Sainte-Croix in 1604 and Port Royal, Nova Scotia in 1605. An habitation or fort and trading post was built here by David Lomeron, a merchant from

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

, France. It was however destroyed by the Kirke brothers in 1628. Chebogue was also referred to as Port Lomeron and Fort Lomeron in some accounts of the time. The Acadian community of Chebogue received an influx of settlers in 1740. A chapel, Sainte-Anne, was constructed on Durkee Island. It was one of the most important Acadian communities in south western

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

at the time. However, in 1758 the entire settlement was destroyed and the Acadian inhabitants deported. In 1761, English settlers from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, called Planters, landed at Chebogue. They consisted of Captain Moses Perry, Ebenezer Ellis and Sealed Landers and their families. A plaque mounted besides the cemetery gate at Town Point in Chebogue commemorates this event. Another prominent initial settler was

Ephraim Cook (mariner) Ephraim Cook (Cooke) (1 June 1737 in Kingston, Massachusetts - 17 November 1821, Rockville, Nova Scotia) was a mariner and prominent merchant who was instrumental in establishing Halifax, Mahone Bay, Blockhouse and Chebogue, Nova Scotia. He also ...

. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, during the

Battle off Yarmouth (1777) The Battle off Yarmouth took place on 28 March 1777 during the American Revolutionary War off the coast of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The battle is the first American armed vessel to engage the British Navy. The British vessel forced the American ...

, the British Navy drove an American Privateer ashore near Chebogue River, where the prisoners escaped into the village.

Present day

Today Chebogue's main economy is still based on farming and fishing, the same as almost 400 years ago.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em General Service Areas in Nova Scotia Communities in Yarmouth County