At Annapolis Royal
The Old Port Royal
At Annapolis Royal—once the busy capital—one is struck by the peace and content which seems to reign everywhere, and perhaps the most peaceful spot is amongst the grass-grown ramparts of the old Fort—softened and rounded by time, and in summer carpeted with wild flowers. A magnificent sweep of the wide river mouth lies in front, and the Fort, built on a high bluff, looks over the valleys of the Lequille and Annapolis Rivers on either hand. The buildings still standing are the officers’ quarters, which are interesting, and no doubt were considered luxurious in those days, and the old powder magazine, built nearly three centuries ago, and still in excellent repair. A horrible dark dungeon, chill and damp, is built under the ramparts at one angle, and the picturesque sally port is still much as it was in olden days.
Next to the Grand-Pré Park land, the New Minas relics of the Terriot settlements and the work of their descendants are the most numerous and interesting. Many cellar foundations remain as they were left in 1755 after the houses and barns were burned. The English colonists of 1760 raised their houses farther away from the marshes, so that the Terriot landmarks for the greater part still remain undisturbed. Some of their houses were forty-five feet square, with huge chimneys built outside ten feet square at the ground, traces of which still remain.
The Le Blancs (Grand-Pré)
Among the later arrivals were the Le Blancs, whose children added considerably to the growth of population, and whose importance and prosperity make them outstanding persons in the country.
The first Le Blanc was Daniel, born in France in 1626. Thousands of his descendants are to be found in America to-day. He arrived in Acadia in 1650, with his wife, Françoise Gaudet. He settled in Port Royal about nine miles above the fort. When that place fell to the English under Phipps, in 1690, Le Blanc was among those appointed to administer the affairs of the Province until the arrival of a Governor. His name is found on the census of 1671, 1686, and 1693. He had probably died before the next census in 1698, as his name does not appear then or afterwards. He lived to be about seventy years old, in spite of the trying and laborious period through which the people of Acadia lived.
The four sons of the first Port Royal Le Blanc settled upon the present Grand-Pré lands very soon after Melanson had become established on the Gaspereau and Terriot on the Cornwallis.
The village, Jean Le Blanc, in 1775, had eight families. Village Pierre Le Blanc had fourteen, and Grand Le Blanc had thirteen. The Le Blancs appeared also in other villages.