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 Early French Settlement and the Acadian Influence
Although there was a permanent settlement at Port Royal as early as 1604, the Acadians did not expand into the Minas Basin region until approximately 1672. Most of the settlement along the Basin shores was on the opposite shore from this area, as those were the sites of the best agricultural land. However there remains some evidence of Acadian families living in Advocate, Fox River, Diligent River and Parrsboro.
Since there were Acadian villages at Beaubassin and Minudie on the present Amherst side of the county, it is indicative of the theory that the earlier mentioned native routes of travel down to Parrsboro and across the Basin to the Valley linked these communities. Â Hence there is speculation today that the livelihood of the few families established in the Parrsboro area was somewhat connected to this travel route. It is known, for example, that in the 1730's two Acadian boatmen, Jean Bourg and Francois Arseneau, operated a ferry service across the Basin from Partridge Island to the Grand Pre region.
After many years of conflict between the English and the French, both in the old world and the new, French interests, especially in Acadia and Canada, were greatly eroded. As a prelude to the final defeat of the French at Fort Beausejour and Louisberg, all Acadian families were expelled from British controlled territory in 1755. There was on the part of the English a very real fear of the potential 'fifth column' threat posed by the Acadian settlers in support of regular French troops. A fear not dispelled by the capture, from the cargo of one vessel of a French fleet, of a shipment of 10,000 scalping knives.
The deportation of 1755 did not, however, entirely eliminate the Acadian influence in the region. Although many, if not all buildings of Acadian construction were burned in the months following the expulsion, many Acadians remained in the area. It is believed that smaller, isolated communities were not always included in the regular Acadian census and thus their exact positions were not well known to the English. This point together with the fact that many Acadians evaded capture by escaping to the forests and living with the aid of their Mikmaq allies. During the 1760's, it is reported that over three hundred Acadians that had escaped the great deportation were now held under house arrest at Fort Edward in Windsor. In fact, in 1764, less than 10 years after the expulsion, military records reveal that with permission from Governor Wilmot, through Major Hamilton, a local British commander, two Acadians Francois Aresneau and Jean Bourg were allowed to continue operating a shallop as a Ferryboat.
This evidence of a continued Acadian presence lends credence to the theory that the central portion of Ottawa House, was constructed by utilizing Acadian construction techniques, if not by local Acadians themselves, in the 1760's. (Evidence from dendrochronology, ie tree ring dating, places the wood used in construction at c 1773.)
Since there were Acadian villages at Beaubassin and Minudie on the present Amherst side of the county, it is indicative of the theory that the earlier mentioned native routes of travel down to Parrsboro and across the Basin to the Valley linked these communities. Â Hence there is speculation today that the livelihood of the few families established in the Parrsboro area was somewhat connected to this travel route. It is known, for example, that in the 1730's two Acadian boatmen, Jean Bourg and Francois Arseneau, operated a ferry service across the Basin from Partridge Island to the Grand Pre region.
After many years of conflict between the English and the French, both in the old world and the new, French interests, especially in Acadia and Canada, were greatly eroded. As a prelude to the final defeat of the French at Fort Beausejour and Louisberg, all Acadian families were expelled from British controlled territory in 1755. There was on the part of the English a very real fear of the potential 'fifth column' threat posed by the Acadian settlers in support of regular French troops. A fear not dispelled by the capture, from the cargo of one vessel of a French fleet, of a shipment of 10,000 scalping knives.
The deportation of 1755 did not, however, entirely eliminate the Acadian influence in the region. Although many, if not all buildings of Acadian construction were burned in the months following the expulsion, many Acadians remained in the area. It is believed that smaller, isolated communities were not always included in the regular Acadian census and thus their exact positions were not well known to the English. This point together with the fact that many Acadians evaded capture by escaping to the forests and living with the aid of their Mikmaq allies. During the 1760's, it is reported that over three hundred Acadians that had escaped the great deportation were now held under house arrest at Fort Edward in Windsor. In fact, in 1764, less than 10 years after the expulsion, military records reveal that with permission from Governor Wilmot, through Major Hamilton, a local British commander, two Acadians Francois Aresneau and Jean Bourg were allowed to continue operating a shallop as a Ferryboat.
This evidence of a continued Acadian presence lends credence to the theory that the central portion of Ottawa House, was constructed by utilizing Acadian construction techniques, if not by local Acadians themselves, in the 1760's. (Evidence from dendrochronology, ie tree ring dating, places the wood used in construction at c 1773.)