Grand-Pré National Historic Site

A significant gathering and memorial site, Grand-Pré has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site and as such represents true recognition of the entire Acadian community.

In 1755, the Church of Saint-Charles-des-Mines in Grand-Pré is the site of the proclamation of the Order of Deportation. Reflecting by turn tragedy, emotion and the beauty of its landscape, Grand-Pré National Historic Site is an indispensable landmark.

A must-see : Stop to admire the statue of Évangéline, heroine of the famous poem by Longfellow and visit the Memorial Church built at the site of the former Saint-Charles-des-Mines Church!

Pierre Melanson - also known as La Verdure - and his family are the first to settle at Grand-Pré in 1682. They transform the salt marsh land into a fertile area suitable for agricultural purposes.

On August 18, 1755, eight days after the Acadians from the Isthmus of Chignecto are attacked by the English, the Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow arrives in Grand-Pré with 315 soldiers. He constructs a palisade around the Saint-Charles-des-Mines Church, where he establishes his headquarters.

On September 5, 1755, the Order of Deportation is read simultaneously to the Acadians of Grand-Pré at the Saint-Charles Church and to the Acadians of Pisiguit, who were imprisoned a few days prior at Fort Edward. 418 men and boys over the age of 10, who were summoned to the Church, are imprisoned for the following 5 weeks.

Between 1922 and 1930, a memorial chapel is constructed on what is believed to be the site where the Saint-Charles-des-Mines Church was originally erected and subsequently destroyed by fire.

In 1961, Grand-Pré is designated a National Historic Site. On June 30, 2012, the landscape of Grand-Pré is also named a UNESCO World Heritage site. For many Acadians, Grand-Pré is considered the heart of their ancestral homeland.