Grand Pre - Grand Pre National Historic Site Attractions
The road from Greenwich passes through the village of Wolfville, and 4km (21/2mi) east lies the "Grand-Pré" (Great Meadow), an historical site under a preservation order.
Grand-Pré was one of the main Acadian settlements in the early 18th C. By means of an ingenious system of dams and canals the Acadians succeeded in reclaiming fertile land from the sea and laid out large and productive fields. In its heyday there were more than 200 farms here. However, in 1755 the Acadians were driven out, their homes destroyed and their cattle taken, and the land parceled out to colonists from New England. After the American Declaration of Independence American Loyalists were also similarly rewarded.
The Grand Pré National Historic Site is mainly in memory of the Acadian settlers and the problems they had with the English and Scottish forces. In the gardens stands a memorial to Henry Longfellow, who in 1847 immortalized the tragic fate of the Acadians in his poem "Evangéline". There is also a statue of his heroine Evangéline. Both memorials were sculpted by the Acadian artist Philippe Hébert. There are "Living History" presentations.
Grand-Pré was one of the main Acadian settlements in the early 18th C. By means of an ingenious system of dams and canals the Acadians succeeded in reclaiming fertile land from the sea and laid out large and productive fields. In its heyday there were more than 200 farms here. However, in 1755 the Acadians were driven out, their homes destroyed and their cattle taken, and the land parceled out to colonists from New England. After the American Declaration of Independence American Loyalists were also similarly rewarded.
The Grand Pré National Historic Site is mainly in memory of the Acadian settlers and the problems they had with the English and Scottish forces. In the gardens stands a memorial to Henry Longfellow, who in 1847 immortalized the tragic fate of the Acadians in his poem "Evangéline". There is also a statue of his heroine Evangéline. Both memorials were sculpted by the Acadian artist Philippe Hébert. There are "Living History" presentations.