SouthShoreNow.ca

Possible historic French site at Brick Hill in danger of disappearing into the sea

By PATRICK HIRTLE

 The ruins of what could be an historically significant French trading post, predating the settlement of Lunenburg by at least 50 years, are slowly disappearing into the waters off Second Peninsula.

 Long-time educator and amateur historian David Corkum said the remnants, located in a small, unworked pasture on Brick Hill, at the peninsula's end, are slipping nearer each year toward a watery oblivion, and he feels it is imperative that someone step in and prevent the loss of an important part of this region's heritage.

 "[Brick Hill] and portions of this whole bay have to be preserved for the people of Canada. We're sitting here fiddling while Rome burns," Mr. Corkum lamented. "The sea is solving the problem, which is just a sad state of affairs, to think that we would allow this to happen."

 Mr. Corkum explained that over the years, unofficial examinations of the site had revealed a kiln, which unfortunately has since washed away, numerous cannonballs, and even some broken crockery, in addition to the sea of bricks buried just beneath a layer of topsoil that gave the hill its modern name and presumably comprised the fort's walls.

 Randy Stevens, who owns a section of Brick Hill adjacent to the alleged location of the fort, said he has recovered a number of bricks from his property.

 "I've got half a bushel of them," Mr. Stevens said, adding that the bricks he has recovered are very dense and of remarkable quality, considering their age.

 There is also surface evidence that people were buried at the site, Mr. Corkum said, indicating there was indeed a degree of permanency to the settlement. While Mr. Corkum conceded it was impossible to discern how many people lived at the fort, he said it is possible to speculate as to when the settlement was abandoned.

 "We know that when the British put an end to a lot of the French control [in Acadia] in 1710, that's probably where the cannonballs came from, and that's when this fortified trading post fell," he said.

 Mr. Corkum said he first learned of Brick Hill during his days at Acadia University, when he came across a newspaper article describing conditions of the area.

 According to the story, he recalled, a farmer was plowing his field and had to stop because of the quantity of bricks littering the soil.

 Since his retirement, Mr. Corkum has delved into genealogical research and the history of the Lunenburg area. He said investigations into the roots of the Petitpas, Guidry and d'Entremont families have helped bring the importance of Brick Hill to light.

 According to research conducted by Mr. Corkum, the fort was likely founded by the son of Sieur Philippe Mius d'Entremont, who is recorded to have settled a league and a half north of Merligueche.

 While this description confounded many researchers, Mr. Corkum came to the conclusion that the Brick Hill remnants, and the surrounding countryside, fit the geographical necessities of a 17th-century settlement to a tee.

Standing out like a sore thumb on the ocean-facing side of an otherwise farmable hill facing Heckmans Head, this field is said to be so inundated with bricks just beneath the surface that it is unworkable. It is Mr. Corkum's sincere hope that some day arrangements might be made to have the area archaeologically excavated.

 The swarm of drumlins that line the Mahone Bay region, Mr. Corkum explained, make for an ideal farming environment. A drumlin is a major deposit of topsoil, in the form of a demi-elliptical hillside, resulting from the recession of the glaciers during the last ice age.

 "The amazing part of this is where the d'Entremonts settled," Mr. Corkum said. "The fertile, farmable soil came right down to the water's edge. They're not supposed to be sophisticated people, they're supposed to be peasants of the land, but they had amazing insight."

 Not only that, but the waters off Second Peninsula would have provided for deep-water, unimpeded ocean access through Heckmans Anchorage, between Sacrifice Island and the end of the peninsula. Further out, slate rock outcroppings near Chockle Cap formed a natural breakwater to protect the drumlin expanse from the pounding of the ocean.

 Mr. Stevens echoed the interpretations of Mr. Corkum. On a clear day, he noted, an observer on the top of Brick Hill can see the whole of Mahone Bay, from Big Tancook to Indian Point to Maders Cove, keeping the area safe from an unexpected assault.

 Another feature that made Brick Hill the perfect choice is its proximity to Bachmans Beach, which was the summer campground of the LaHave Mi'kmaq.

 The Mi'kmaq could use the local waterways to easily portage to Second Peninsula from throughout the entire region, via the LaHave, Gold and Mush-a-Mush river systems.

 "They were strategically located to take advantage of all that traffic coming down the rivers," Mr. Corkum observed of Brick Hill.

 As the French presence in the area grew and intermarriage with the local Mi'kmaq occurred, the resulting children were not often given the entire family name, which Mr. Corkum said resulted in the creation of several monikers that still survive locally today.

 "Instead of like the rest of the Mius d'Entremonts, they were just given the name Mius," Mr. Corkum explained. "So, Brick Hill is the cradle of the Muise family."

 Until recently, researchers with an interest in the French history of Lunenburg County would often find themselves confronted with stumbling blocks marginalizing the traditional French presence in the area.

 "That became a big objective of South Shore 2004 Celebration, to awaken an awareness," Mr. Corkum noted.

 Mr. Corkum said letting Brick Hill deteriorate any further would fly in the face of such admirable objectives and waste a potentially tremendous economic resource, especially in our increasingly tourism-fuelled region.

 "If you look at what Lunenburg is doing, with the downturn in the fisheries, it's rescuing itself through tourism associated with heritage," he explained.

 In conjunction with other early French sites in the area, Mr. Corkum feels that a formal approach to preserving and archaeologically exploring Brick Hill could do nothing but help the long-term economic status of our region.

 "The part that saddens me about the whole thing is that here's this whole end of Second Peninsula going down the drain, literally, as it's being washed away," he observed.

 "Some places have to build in order to generate [tourism], but we have it. Merligueche, Fort Point, Brick Hill - it all happened here."