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Culture and history
Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons
History of Pierre Dugua
The River Flows On
Champlain describes how they found the river
A Place to Settle
Champlain describes the island and it's surrounding and explains the reasons why they chose to settle there.
Where Two Worlds Meet
First contact between the Passamaquoddy, and the French and the importance of the fur trade.
A French Colony in Acadie
Champlain's plan of the Saint Croix Habitation
A Winter of Despair
Description of winter on Saint Croix Island and the deaths of thirty-five men.
Champlain's Description of Scurvy
Champlain describes the effects of scurvy on the colony
A Checkered History
Saint Croix Island history through the times.
A Legacy for All
Saint Croix Island history through the times.
When French explorer Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons pointed his vessels west along the coast crossing Passamaquoddy Bay, they arrived at Sainte-Croix Island to establish the first permanent French settlement in North America.
They built houses and service buildings, gardens, and a chapel, following a plan envisioned by Samuel De Champlain. The "capital of l'Acadie,” was to be a year-round territory but that winter, nearly half of the settlers lost their lives to scurvy and exposure.
Though the settlement was moved to the southern shores of the Bay of Fundy, the insights gained here helped build an enduring French presence in North America.
Today, St. Croix Island is uninhabited, but interpretive sites on both sides of the St. Croix River evoke the settlement’s significance. The Canadian side explores how St. Croix Island helped entrench French culture and Acadian pride for the generations that followed.
History
On Saint Croix Island in June of 1604, French nobleman-courtier Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, established a settlement known as the first "capital of l'Acadie". This establishment was the first attempt by the French at year-round colonization in the territory they called "La Cadie" or "l'Acadie".
The experience of the French on Saint Croix Island taught them much about adapting to the environment and interacting with the Aboriginal people. These insights helped form the foundation for an enduring French presence in North America.
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