Beausoleil Acadian Village in Salisbury NB

(Delayed posting. Visited during summer 2024) 

During a walk along the main street of Salisbury, I noticed this banner amongst the other ones celebrating Salisbury's 250th anniversary of being permanently settled. I was curious because the date on the banner stated that on 1755 Beausoleil Village was here (highlighted on the banner). The math did not add up. Several other Acadian communities existed along the Petitcodiac that were on the banner which I had not heard of before: Village-des-Blanchard (now Hillsborough and site of the Battle of Petitcodiac), Pierre-A-Michel (now Memramcook) and the lower Petitcodiac villiages of Villiage Victuare, Beaumont, Boudreau Villiage, Belliveau Villiage, Pre-d'en-Haut, Gautreau, Terre-Rouge, and Le Coude to name a few. 

So I did some research. During the Seven Years War (in particular the French-Indian War conflict in North America), and after Fort Beaujejour and Fortress Louisbourg fell, the Bay of Fundy campaign started the expulsion of the Acadians. Not wanting to join any side and just live as settlers on the land, the local British officials were concerned that they were a potential problem and wanted them gone. Settlers were rounded up and sent elsewhere during what is known as the Expulsion of the Acadians. Several other campaigns, including the Petitcodiac Campaign, caused Acadians who could to flee upriver to the lower Petitcodiac area. This was not to last and by 1760 nearly all of the Acadians were sent away. When the first colonists under British rule arrived, German settlers from Pennsylvania in 1766, they found cleared forests and areas ready for cultivation. For a long time they were referred to as the first colonists, ignoring the previous Acadian presence in an effort to wipe their memory away.

Below is area Beausoleil Village was, or at least its approximate location. Although on a historical website there is no plaque or marker to indicate the history of the site. Neither do many other Acadian settlements in the Maritime provinces. Acknowledging the past is important and recent decades have started the path of recognition for the Acadians that lived. 

The following are some pictures of the area around the area giving an indication of geography.

This was in the woods on a path by the playground.

This was an interesting dive into local history in a town I, for a little over a year, once lived in. What is your local history that is unknown to you? Why not spend some time to know it?