Boishébert National Historic Site of Canada

Miramichi, New Brunswick
View of Boishébert, showing the viewplanes between Wilsons Point and Beaubears Island that are reminiscent of their shared history as an Acadian refuge. © Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, Ian Doull, 1999.
View between Wilsons Point and Beaubears Island
© Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, Ian Doull, 1999.
View of Beaubears Island, showing the remnants of a cemetery. © Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, Ian Doull, 1999.View of Boishébert, showing the viewplanes between Wilsons Point and Beaubears Island that are reminiscent of their shared history as an Acadian refuge. © Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, Ian Doull, 1999.View showing the pathway at Wilsons Point. © Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, Ian Doull, 1999.
Address : Highway 8, Northwest Bridge, Beaubears Island - Wilsons Point, Miramichi, New Brunswick

Recognition Statute: Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date: 1930-05-16
Dates:
  • 1756 to 1759 (Construction)
  • 1755 to 1760 (Significant)

Event, Person, Organization:
  • Charles Deschamps de Boishébert  (Person)
Other Name(s):
  • Boishébert  (Designation Name)
  • Beaubears Island  (Other Name)
  • Camp d'Espérance  (Other Name)
Research Report Number: 2001-040, 1985-017
DFRP Number: 04565 00

Plaque(s)


Existing plaque:  Highway 8, Northwest Bridge, Beaubears Island, New Brunswick

Led by French officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert, several thousand Acadians sought refuge here at the forks of the Miramichi during the deportations that began in 1755. After hundreds died from famine and disease between 1756 and 1758, many of the survivors fled to Quebec and to the Baie des Chaleurs area. While most traces of their temporary settlement, known as Camp de l’Espérance, are found on Wilsons Point, Beaubears Island was an integral part of the community. The Boishébert settlement represents an important chapter of the Acadian experience in the Maritime provinces.

Existing plaque:  Wilsons Point, Miramichi, New Brunswick

Following their expulsion from Nova Scotia in 1755, refugee Acadians came here to a settlement established by the Canadian officer, Charles Des Champs de Boishébert, from whom the island derives its name. Occupying the island opposite and the adjacent point, the settlement was a gathering area for expeditions against the English in Acadia and a point of transhipment for supplies from Quebec. Though the original settlement was destroyed by the English in 1760, Beaubears Island became during the 19th century the scene of substantial shipbuilding activity.

Original plaque dismantled / removed / replaced:  

The island opposite this point served as a concentration camp for refugee Acadians, 1756-1759. It was termed the "Le Camp d'Espérance", and was established by their protector, Charles Deschamps de Boishébert, a Canadian officer, after whom the island has been named.

Description of Historic Place

Boishébert National Historic Site of Canada is a wooded area with archaeological evidence of an 18th century Acadian refugee camp situated on Wilsons Point and Beaubears Island at the confluence of the Southwest and Northwest Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Official recognition refers to the area of Wilsons Point delineated at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

Boishébert was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1930 because: the Acadians, under the leadership of Charles Deschamps de Boishébert, had sought refuge on Wilsons Point from 1756 to 1760, and that Beaubears Island was an integral, functional component of this settlement which importantly relates the significance of the Acadian experience.

The heritage value of Boishébert lies in the landscapes which includes below-ground cultural resources of the settlement of refugee Acadians, historic viewplanes and a relatively undisturbed natural setting.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 2001.

Character-Defining Elements

Elements which characterize the heritage value of this historic site include: the geographical location of Beaubears Island at the confluence of the Northwest and the Southwest Miramichi River, just downstream from Wilsons Point; viewplanes between Wilsons Point and Beaubears Island that are reminiscent of their shared history as an Acadian refuge and its supply and reconnaissance point; viewplanes from Beaubears Island downstream along the Miramichi River towards other areas of mid 18th-century Acadian settlement speaking to the accessibility and security of this place as a point of refuge; the integrity of a pathway that pre-dates 1840, extending the length of Beaubears Island approximately in its centre; the location and rare surface traces of occupancy on the mid 18th-century Acadian settlement site on Wilsons Point (Enclosure Park) including remnants of a cemetery and church site, smaller cleared areas and pathways within the wooded cover on the eastern extremity of the Wilsons Point opposite Beaubears Island; the integrity and materials of the surviving archaeological remains, features and artefacts in their original placement and extent representing tangible evidence of the activities, lifestyle and material culture of Acadian settlers, notably the rectangular house site, and remains of a communal fire hearth; the relatively undisturbed terrain of the meadow and wooded point at Wilsons Point; the relatively undisturbed biological diversity of the island.