The country fronting the present Grand-Pré is broadly open to the Basin of Minas. The dyked marshes extend for miles in blocks of pasture, grain, and haylands. Great creeks which once the mighty tides of the Bay of Fundy filled till the meadows were submerged with the turbid waters; red channels of the winding rivers beyond; and the great stretch of the Basin of Minas, purple-fringed by the distant hills, all combine to make this an idyllic setting.
At the time of the Deportation of the Acadians, in 1755, most of the farm land, flanked by the dyked meadows, from the Gaspereau River to Kentville, held the villages and small hamlets of the people. Upon the descending slopes on both sides of the Gaspereau Valley that lies south of Grand-Pré, other populous villages, pastures and farms, clustered as far as the present village of the name, Gaspereau.
North and west, as far as Pereau, under the North Mountain, the rich Acadian country of Canard lay upon the banks of the four rivers, fronting always the meadows of marsh that spread away from the swift tidal streams.
This was the Minas country of the Acadian period, divided into two parishes, Grand-Pré and Canard, separated by the present Cornwallis River. In 1750, five years before the removal of the inhabitants, Minas had a population of four thousand. There were thirty-five villages, named after the original founders who came from Port Royal—Gaspereau and Grand-Pré were the only exceptions.
Upon the Grand-Pré meadows may be seen the thirteen sections of dykes raised from time to time, till the whole extent of marsh became enclosed. It was a laborious work for the people, who numbered only four hundred in 1700. Most of the marshes were enclosed during the following forty years as the families grew to manhood, and new settlers came. Upon these lands they had their pastures, hay and grain areas fenced in. Upon the undyked marshes they cut the coarse salt grass.
As the forest lands were cleared of wood, they were used as pastures. Beyond these, stretched the primeval forests on all sides. Orchards of apple and pear, and garden plots lay near the homes. Fish were abundant in the sea beyond. By boat the settlers were able to pass from place to place, for the rivers made convenient ways for travel.
Grand Pré
While the name Grand-Pré was given in general to the Minas country south and alongside the Cornwallis River, the village of the name was adjoining the Memorial Park land. It had twenty-three inhabitants living upon three farms. The cellars of the three homes may be seen to-day. The largest was on the west side of the Park. The other two, upon the gentle slope south. They were the properties of Pierre Landry, Jean le Sour, and Jacques Terriot—all prominent and prosperous men in the little community.
The knoll of land, consisting of fourteen acres, now called the Grand-Pré Memorial or Historical Park, lies adjoining the dyked lands. It is enclosed by a rustic fence, and is separated by the Dominion Atlantic Railway from the farms on the slope rising to the south. The ground was used for church purposes, and the chapel stood upon the highest part of the knoll. Where the stone cross stands was the burying ground of the Grand-Pré Acadians of the parish of St. Charles. The church land had been given for the purpose by the original Landry, and formed part of his farm. About the year 1687, the first church was built, and enlarged or rebuilt as the population increased. Few dykes had been erected at this time, and the tides of the Basin of Minas came within a few hundred feet of the church land. In the burying ground were laid the first to die in Minas. Melansons, Terriots, Le Blancs, Landrys, and other families mingle their dust there. The cross without names, built of stone from some of their home foundations, marks where they lie forgotten.
The Presbytery stood on the foundation west of the church site. This was occupied by Colonel Winslow when his troops were encamped about the churchyard, on the eve of the Deportation. The row of willows on the north side of the Park grounds was set out to shield the church from the north winds that swept across the open dyked lands.