Garden Lots, Blue Rocks and Stonehurst

The small trio of Garden Lots, Blue Rocks and Stonehurst, lying beyond Lunenburg toward the Atlantic coast, are often overlooked, but their beauty and the echoes of the past that resonate throughout each community are worthy of attention.

Garden Lots was named because the plots of land in that area were divided among some of the first European settlers in the Lunenburg area so as to provide an excess of agricultural space for growing fruit and vegetables.

Blue Rocks was settled around 1760, shortly after the first European settlers arrived at Lunenburg. For many years, fishing was the main industry in the community.

At Stonehurst, the Tanner and Allen clans were among the first families to settle the area. That community was initially named Black Rocks, undoubtedly a reference to the sheen the rocks took on when splashed by the salty Atlantic brine.

All three communities share a common bond through their geographic proximity and their residents' participation in the Lunenburg-based fishery over the years.

While this often meant sizable catches and economically stable families, having a role in the fishery was not without its peril. Each one of these communities was tragically affected by the August Gales of 1926 and 1927, when storms in the Atlantic claimed much of the Lunenburg fleet.

Among those lost at sea were numerous members of the Tanner and Knickle families — names that are still common in the area today.