Pioneer Settlement 2

NATIVE PEOPLE A history of Freetown would be incomplete without reference to the native people of our province. Around 4000 years ago a nomadic people known today as the Micmac people found their way to an island they called “Abegweit”. The Micmac depended on nature for their food and they hunted and fished in circuits of different areas, each circuit lasting about six weeks.

It is known that the Bedeque Bay-Malpeque Bay region was one area of concentration for the Micmac. They would paddle into Bedeque Bay, from Cape Tormentine, go up the Wilmot River and then portage to Webber Cove on Malpeque Bay. They would spend most of the summer in large camps on the North Shore, travelling from those camps on various circuits harvesting shell fish, fish, roots and berries.

There is little evidence of Micmac movement up the Dunk River. Without much doubt the Dunk would have been included as a Micmac circuit due to its abundance of fish, eels, wild game and shell fish. The Micmac were adept at trapping and spearing eels and frequented rivers where the fish were plentiful. Mid-September was the usual time for the Micmac to move camp from the North Shore to areas like the Dunk River where the eels were fat. In the fall they relied mainly on game for their food supply and this would have been the time for upland and marsh hunting in an area like the Dunk watershed.

THE ACADIANS Jacques Cartier’s visit to Prince Edward Island in 1534 changed the course of history and led to the first European settlements in the province. French settlement of the Island of St. Jean progressed slowly and by 1748 there were less than a thousand Acadians living on the Island of St. Jean.

The first instance of Acadian settlement in the Bedeque-Freetown area came in 1750 when some“plow— men” arrived to settle the area. They were no doubt attracted to the region because of the marsh land along the estuary of the Dunk River. The shell fish and fish which had attracted the Micmacs would have been of interest to the Acadians.

The Acadians were noted for their methods of marsh farming which they had perfected in the Bordeaux area of Northern France and in Acadia. Marshland is very fertile and by using dykes and ditches these set- tlers were able to prevent the encroachment of sea water into the marsh soil. After three years of non-exposure to sea water and leaching of fresh rain water, the marshland became suitable for cropping. Evidence of Acadian dykes and ditches remain to this day and according to some sources these extended up the Dunk River into Lower Freetown.

Early maps of lots 25 and 26 reveals the existence of buildings left by the French in the area known as Stavert’s Shore, in North Bedeque. The Acadian farmers could travel by boat or on foot to their marshland in Lower Freetown.

The 1752 French census of the Island of St. Jean listed eight families residing at Bédec. These families grew crops of wheat, oats, peas, barley, rye, buckwheat, flax and marsh hay. They also had fruit orchards. Their livestock included horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, hens, geese, turkeys and ducks. The Acadians depend- ed on water for trade with other settlements and had both saw and grist mills. The 1753 French census of the Island showed a doubling in the population of Acadians at Bédec to 101.

The Bédec settlement remained until 1758 when the British deported most of the Acadians from the Island of St. Jean. Thus ended the earliest era of settlement in the Freetown area. The Acadians had shown that agriculture was possible and developed the marsh for future settlers. This marshland remained a source

of hay until the 1950’s and today cattle are still pastured in the upper marshland.

BRITISH CONQUEST AND THE LAND IJOTTERY

With the expulsion of the French in 1758, the land in Lots 25 and 26 was basically depopulated. The British did not legally take possession of any property on the Island of St. John until 1763. On 15 February 1765, Captain Samuel Holland began a survey of the Island for the British Crown. This survey was completed by the Captain and his crew in 1766. Holland divided the land into 67 townships or lots plus three royalties around the capitals of each county. Holland’s original plan called for each lot except Lot 66 to have a 20,000 acre area, but his approximations ranged from 16,000 to nearly 27,000 acres. The boundaries of Freetown lie within portions of two lots; the southern half of Lot 25 and the northern half of Lot 26.