The Acadian Landing Site, also known as the Acadian Cross Historic Shrine, is a site historically significant to the French-American Acadian population of far northern

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. Located on the southern bank of the Saint John River east of Madawaska and marked by a large marble cross, it is the site traditionally recorded as the landing point of the first Acadians to settle this region of the upper Saint John River. The site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1973.

Description and history

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 ...

in the late 1750s, British authorities in

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 ...

, which then included all of present-day

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

, decided to forcibly relocate the local Acadian population to other parts of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. This action had far-reaching consequences, but not all Acadians were deported, and a significant number that survived the relocation process returned to what is now New Brunswick. Following the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...

s who had fled the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

were resettled in New Brunswick, and given land grants that sometimes included land occupied by Acadians. In many instances, these occupants were driven from the land, and were again forced to move. In 1785, a group of twenty Acadian families led by Joseph Daigle worked their way up the Saint John River from Fredericton. According to local tradition, they ended their journey at this site, and erected a wooden cross to mark the occasion. This group formed the nucleus of settlements on both sides of the river, part of which is on the Canada–United States border, dividing the larger community. The border in this area was set by the 1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty, after a period of border tension known as the

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...

. The site is marked by a large marble cross, erected in 1922, which is located at the approximate site of the original cross as determined by local lore. It is separated from

United States Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

by a

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

field, and is accessible by a side road. A wooden platform, built in 1969, surrounds the cross, and is the occasional site of religious observances. The property is now owned and maintained by the Madawaska Historical Society. The site is also part of the Maine Acadian Culture program of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

References

{{authority control Acadian diaspora National Register of Historic Places in Maine Madawaska, Maine French-Canadian culture in Maine Acadian history 1922 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Aroostook County, Maine

Description and history

See also

References