Located in Horton Landing, this cross is a memorial site of the Deportation of the Acadians.
Forged from wrought iron in the Gothic style, the Cross bears the following inscription:
"The dry bed of the creek which is in sight, a few paces in the marsh is the spot where the victims of the Expulsion of the Acadians of 1755 were embarked on the small boats to be rowed over to the transports lying at anchor in Minas Basin."
A few meters away is a monument dedicated to the Planters who arrived in the region after 1755.
Don’t miss : At the Interpretation Centre at Grand-Pré National Historic Site, you can admire a sculpture paying tribute to the three nation pioneers of Grand-Pré: the Mi’kmaqs, Acadians and Planters. This wooden sculpture, created from an elm tree which stood beside the cross and was destroyed during a storm in 2010, is the result of the work of three artists: Monette Léger (Acadian), Geral Gloade (Mi’kmaq) and Doug Morse (descendant of Planters).
A bit of history
Between October and December 1755, more than 2,000 people were deported from Horton Landing. In 1923, an unveiling ceremony and the blessing of the statue of the Our Lady of the Assumption was held at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site. It was followed by a walk from the train tracks towards a place where the Dominion Atlantic Railway Company had installed a platform to mark the site where the Acadians would have been boarded on English vessels in 1755.
With the promise that the parcel of land would be fenced and a wrought iron cross erected before September 1924, the Dominion Atlantic transfers the site to the Acadians.
In July 2005, the cross is moved to Horton Landing, the actual site of the embarkment of the Acadians.
