In the Minas Basin of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, the settlement of Grand-Pré grew eastward towards the Pisiquid River. This settlement became known as Pisiguit or (Pisiquit, Pigiguit, Pisiquid, Pisiguid). Pisiguit came from the Mi'kmaq term Pesaquid, meaning "Junction of Waters". It became so large that it was viewed as separate from Grand Pré. In 1714, there were 351 people (in 56 families) there.[1]
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By the mid-18th century, a memoire from 1748 noted that there were 2,700 people in Pisiguit compared to 2,400 in the Grand Pré and Canard area. But the area lost its population rather quickly. Pisiguit was the Acadian settlement closest to Halifax, which was the newly forming English settlement. When the English needed someone to blame for Indian attacks, or when they needed Acadians for road labor, the first place they went to was Pisiguit. When English pressure began intensifying in the 1750s, the Pisiguit Acadians packed up and left, heading mainly towards the isthmus. By 1755, based on Charles Morris's remarks concerning the removal of the Acadians, there were about 1400 people left there. (about 800 on the left bank , about 100 on the right bank & Kennetcook River, and about 500 on the St. Croix River and today's Windsor area.[2]
Pisiguit had two parishes: La Sainte Famille and L'Assomption. At first, Pisiguit had only one parish (Notre Dame de l'Assomption), founded on Aug. 8, 1698. But the people living on the other side of the river wanted their own church, since crossing the river was rather difficult. So the bishop at Quebec issued an edict to create the second parish of Ste. Famille on June 28, 1722. They were ministered to by a single priest, who preached at each church on alternate Sundays. In 1749, the l'Assomption parish protested to the bishop of Quebec that they had no priest. NOTE: The Acadian dictionary notes that L’Assomption was at Pisiguit west, and Ste. Famille was at Pisiguit east, but the Ste. Famille cemetery was found on the west side of the river?[3]
Fort Edward was built in 1750 on the east side of the mouth of the Pisiguid River. The first commandant was Capt. Gorham. He was wounded at the near-by Battle at St. Croix. After that, Captain Alexander Murray, became in charge of the fort. The fort had been built to verify the Acadians in Pisiguit and to control the passageway for ships trying to sail to the Bay of Fundy.?[4]
On September 5, 1755, the Acadians were told to assemble at the fort where they learnt of their deportation. 1066 people of Pisiguit were boarded on four vessals, the Neptune, the Three Friends, the Dolphin, and the Ranger. This took place on October 13, but it was only on Monday October 20, that they left the Minas Basin. After the problem with boarding the Acadians, the English burnt their homes in the village to make sure that none would escape to their homes. On November 19, 1775, 156 inhabitants of Pisiguit arrived in Philadelphia, and others in December. Amongst the first Acadians to reach Louisiana, the majority were from Pisiguit and Beaubassin.[5]
The Acadian people never again received permission to resettle Pisiguit, but some of them settled other parts of the Maritimes to rebuild their lives. After the deportation, Fort Edward was used as a site to hold Acadians.
In 1759, 50 families were settled in Pisiguit by Amos Fuller and John Hicks of Rhode Island and 50 more in 1760. The government was paying for them to move and giving them arms, ammuniction, and one bushel of corn per person per month for a year. In July, they had a drawing for 28 lots to see who got the boards, timber, and buildings the Acadians left behind. For example, James Wilson and Joseph Northup got barn #8 and house #13.
In July 1762, 130 Acadian men were brought from Ft. Edward to Halifix. This left (according to a count on August 9, 1752) 313 Acadians being held at Ft. Edward ... 21 men, 90 women, and 202 children.[6]
By 1763, the communities of Horton, Falmouth, Cornwallis,, and Newport had a population of 1936 (in 367 families). There were more Acadian prisoners on the east side of the Pisiquid than there were settlers in West Falmouth (356). The Acadian prisoners were hired (4 shillings/day) by the new immigrants to help fix the dikes in the new settlements.
Acadians did move back into the area, though some of those would move to St. Mary's in Annapolis County. Windsor was formed in 1764. Anslow mentions the remains of Acadian dykes near "the Island Acadian Burying Ground.".[7]
In summer 1996, a work crew was excavating the ground to begin construction on Gabriel Road in the Mountain View Subdivision near Falmouth, Nova Scotia. After finding bones in the soil, David Christianson of the Nova Scotia Museum was called to come out to the site. He found a couple of skeletons and over 2 dozen graves. The graves were identified by clay caps which were about a foot under the surface. The graves were five feet deeper. Wrought-iron square nails and fragments of wood dated the graves to the 18th century. A King George III halfpenny and ceramic button from the 18th century were also found. The discover of the graves placed the area under the provincial Special Places Protection Act. Though the uncovered graves were scheduled to be studied, those not disturbed would be left in place. It is estimated that the site contains over 300 graves. Construction plans ceased and a committee was formed to take care of the situation. Lot #7, which contains about 70% cemetery site was soon purchased. The committee also borrowed money to purchase the remainder of the cemetery on lot #6. The Sainte Famille church is thought to have been located on the site of lot #8, which is covered by a house. The skeletal remains that were found have been put into storage until they can be reburied. .[8]