|
Areas of interest:
Cultural history, ethnology, genealogy, history, marine, technology, transportation
Surface area:
About 2,000 sq. ft. (exhibits)
Description, purpose:
To honor Nicolas Denys, Cape Breton Island's first permanent settler, and to collect and preserve the history and artifacts
of the St. Peter's area.
Painting by Lewis Parker
depicting Nicolas Denys in St. Peter's in the 1660s.
Photo: courtesy of Warren Gordon, Sydney.
Highlights of the Museum:
Nicolas Denys was a maker of history in Acadia for over half a century: his remarkable qualities make him one of the builders
of this new land, Cape Breton, in its beginnings.
Above, from the Museum's collection: reproductions of costumes which Nicolas Denys and his wife would have worn in the 17th
century.
Nicolas Denys (Tours, France 1598 or 1603 - Paris, 1688) has been associated with St. Peter's history.
This is where, in 1650, he built a trading post and tried to develop the French colony. For years he was engaged in fisheries
here, manufactured lumber, and cultivated land.
He constructed a road across the isthmus between the Atlantic and the Bras d'Or Lake, and hauled his boats over that portage.
He traded with the Mi'kmaq First Nation.
Below:
Nicolas Denys lived in St. Peter's (Cape Breton Island), but he also was active in other areas throughout present Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick (then named "Acadia").
To find out more about St. Peter's in the 17th century and about Nicolas Denys:
Nicolas Denys
There are discussions presently in the St. Peter's community about the feasibility of rebuilding Nicolas Denys' fort. The
actual site of the 17th-century fort is not far from the Museum, at the entrance of St. Peter's Canal.
Special activities or events at the Museum:
Open House during the 1st week of August (during Nicolas Denys' Days in St. Peter's, August 2-8, 2004; a yearly event since
2000);
along with a open house, reenactments, Acadian music, auctions, flea markets, a parade, ceilidhs, chowder lunches, refreshments
served, etc.
Workshops / Educational Programs:
School tours.
Demonstrations by people in costumes: butter churning, wheel spinning, sewing on an old machine, etc.
Contact information:
Judy Madden, curator (e-mail)
9730 Granville Street, P.O. Box 204
St. Peter's, NS B0E 3B0
Tel.: 902.535.3366 or 902.535.2379
The Nicolas Denys Museum
P.O. Box 204
46 Denys Street
St. Peters, NS B0E 3B0
902.535.2379
The Louisbourg Institute's Web site on the Museum
June 1 - September 30
Open daily, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Adults, $0.50; children, $0.25.
Bus tours, $10.00. School bus tours: no charge
Parking area, washrooms, picnic area.
Giftshops, restaurants nearby.
Articles about the Museum:
- Cape Breton Post, Aug. 18, 2001: "A discovery of the rich history of St. Peter's awaits at the Nicholas Denys Museum".
- Cape Breton Post, Sept. 23, 2000
- The Reporter, Aug. 18, 2000: "Denys Arrival Relived".
|
 |
|
The collections:
Artifacts relating to three eras of settlement --
the French (including Huguenots and Acadians), the Micmac First Nation and the Scottish and Irish:
- Reproduction of a painting by Lewis Parker depicting Nicolas Denys and the original 1650 French trading post (original
at the Beaton Institute, Sydney)
- Artifacts of everyday life, from the 19th century to the present; photographs, etc.
- History of St. Peter's Canal, opened in 1869 - photographs of the construction
- History of the Kavanaugh Family
Right:
This high-chair can be transformed into a baby carriage.
The Museum contains some exceptional pieces, such as a folding parlour bed.
Below:
This is only a part of the exhibit on the several generations of Kavanaughs in the St. Peter's area.
Other interesting facts:
After Nicolas Denys, in the 18th century under the French Regime in Isle Royale (1713-1758), St. Peter's was named "Port
Toulouse". It became a satellite of the Fortress of Louisbourg. The road between the trading post and the Fortress (the
'French Road'), which follows the coastline, is sometimes referred to as "the road not taken".
The founding of St. Peter's/Port Toulouse (in French)
An article by Dr. Robert J. Morgan about the history of the area (Aug. 2000)
St. Peter's (1650) celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2000.
Ruth Morrison and Alice Curry drew up the plans for the Acadian-styled building housing the Museum (1967).
The Museum's staff members:
Judy Madden, Curator
Volunteers: Margaret Boucher, Donna Cotie, Gary Gibson, Michele Jonas, Tommy Madden, Marcia McEwen, Clair Rankin, Charlotte
Stone, Iuy Williamson
For sale at the Museum:
Museum magnets.
Shown at the Museum:
Specimens of pewter ornaments representing some of St. Peter's historic buildings (Canal Bridge and Morrison Store; United
Church and Catholic Church).
Handcrafted by Blue Mist Pewter (Springhill, N.S.).
Distributed by the Village-on-the-Canal Association,
St. Peter's, NS Tel.: 902.535.4000
Other places of historical significance in the vicinity:
The Wallace A. MacAskill House Museum
St. Peter's National Historical Site
Below, a map showing communities along
the Fleur-de-lis Trail, or Route 104:
with L'Ardoise, Pointe Michaud, Fourchu, Framboise
-- towards Gabarus and Louisbourg;
and along the Bras d'Or Scenic Drive
(with Dundee):
Links to other places of interest in the area:
Richmond's Community Network (organizations directory)
St. Peter's Community Club
St. Peter's Marina
Cruising - Getting to the Bras d'Or Lake
Richmond County Business Directory
|
|
|
