The variety in the history which has played out along the beaches of the Bay of Fundy is as dramatic as the tides themselves. The area is marked by the Aboriginal, French, English, American Loyalist and Irish people that have lived there throughout history. Each has maintained a powerful presence in the area as is evident in the local culture, name places, traditions and architecture.
The French Connection
A little island off the Bay of Fundy became the first European settlement in Northern America in 1604. Controlled by Sieur de Mons and accompanied by Samuel Champlain, 79 men tried to settle St. Croix Island. The first winter was tough on the explorers with ice flows
separating the new settlement from the main land. Half the men died of scurvy. The next summer they all relocated across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal in the present day Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
Loyalist Heritage
In 1783 the Treaty of Paris stopped the North American Revolution and approximately 40,000 Loyalists left New England to begin a new life in Europe, Britain and other areas of British North America, including the Bay of Fundy neighbourhoods Saint John and Weymouth.
Long before the arrival of Acadian and British settlers, it was the native Mi'kmaq people who first lived on the beaches of Fundy. The aboriginal folk that lived in and around the Bay of Fundy spoke the common Algonquin language, and were of the Mi'kmaq, the Montagnais, the Algonquin, the Attikamek, the Nipissing, the Abenaki, the Ottawa and the Ojibway tribes.
Mi'kmaq legends show a real appreciation of the Bay's uniqueness and explain the many mysteries that surround the various phenomena. Mi’kmaq legend says that Fundy’s great tide was created when the man-god Glooscap decided he wanted to take a bath. Glooscap commanded Beaver to build a dam at the mouth of the Bay to trap the water for his bath. Whale was angered by this and demanded to know what had stopped the flow of the water. Glooscap then, not wanting to annoy Whale, instructed Beaver to break the dam, but Whale was too impatient. He began to break away at the dam with his tail and these great movements set Fundy’s waters in motion. To this very day the waters of the Bay continue to sway bath and forth.
Mi'kmaq legends show a genuine appreciation for the Bay's uniqueness and explain the various mysteries that surround the diverse phenomena. Mi’kmaq legend says that Fundy’s great tide was created when the man-god Glooscap determined he wanted to take a bath. Glooscap told Beaver to make a dam at the mouth of the Bay to trap water for his bath. Whale was irritated by this and commanded to know what had blocked the flow of the water. Glooscap then, not wanting to anger Whale, told Beaver to break the dam, but Whale was too impatient. He began to destroy the dam with his tail and these great movements set Fundy’s waters in motion. To this very day the waters of the Bay continue to sway bath and forth.
The French Connection
A little island off the Bay of Fundy became the first European settlement in Northern America in 1604. Controlled by Sieur de Mons and accompanied by Samuel Champlain, 79 men tried to settle St. Croix Island. The first winter was tough on the explorers with ice flows
separating the new settlement from the main land. Half the men died of scurvy. The next summer they all relocated across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal in the present day Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
Loyalist Heritage
In 1783 the Treaty of Paris stopped the North American Revolution and approximately 40,000 Loyalists left New England to begin a new life in Europe, Britain and other areas of British North America, including the Bay of Fundy neighbourhoods Saint John and Weymouth.
Long before the arrival of Acadian and British settlers, it was the native Mi'kmaq people who first lived on the beaches of Fundy. The aboriginal folk that lived in and around the Bay of Fundy spoke the common Algonquin language, and were of the Mi'kmaq, the Montagnais, the Algonquin, the Attikamek, the Nipissing, the Abenaki, the Ottawa and the Ojibway tribes.
Mi'kmaq legends show a real appreciation of the Bay's uniqueness and explain the many mysteries that surround the various phenomena. Mi’kmaq legend says that Fundy’s great tide was created when the man-god Glooscap decided he wanted to take a bath. Glooscap commanded Beaver to build a dam at the mouth of the Bay to trap the water for his bath. Whale was angered by this and demanded to know what had stopped the flow of the water. Glooscap then, not wanting to annoy Whale, instructed Beaver to break the dam, but Whale was too impatient. He began to break away at the dam with his tail and these great movements set Fundy’s waters in motion. To this very day the waters of the Bay continue to sway bath and forth.
Mi'kmaq legends show a genuine appreciation for the Bay's uniqueness and explain the various mysteries that surround the diverse phenomena. Mi’kmaq legend says that Fundy’s great tide was created when the man-god Glooscap determined he wanted to take a bath. Glooscap told Beaver to make a dam at the mouth of the Bay to trap water for his bath. Whale was irritated by this and commanded to know what had blocked the flow of the water. Glooscap then, not wanting to anger Whale, told Beaver to break the dam, but Whale was too impatient. He began to destroy the dam with his tail and these great movements set Fundy’s waters in motion. To this very day the waters of the Bay continue to sway bath and forth.
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