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Times and Transcript In a huge hayfield straddling the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia not too far from Moncton, some long buried relics of history have been uncovered by participants in a public dig program at the Beaubassin and Fort Lawrence National Historic Sites. And lead archaeologist Charles Burke is hoping to keep digging for the past in the years to come. "We had over 135 people come here this year and over 80 days of the public program since 2007, we've had 539 people participate. They come from all over North America to be part of it," Burke told me last week as we stood at the crest of the hill near Fort Lawrence, just off the Trans-Canada Highway near the border. Amateur archaeologists and students from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and parts of the United States have come to this little hillside over the last few years to help sift through the dirt to uncover a piece of land with a long and storied past. It was first occupied by aboriginal peoples over 3,000 years ago, then by Acadian settlers in the 1600s and later fought over. Beaubassin was one of the largest Acadian settlements in the new world. But it was burned to the ground by raiders from New England in 1696, rebuilt, burned again by the French in 1704, rebuilt by the Acadians and destroyed again in 1750. So, as Burke says, there are many layers of history here, all blended together as the same rocks were likely used for foundations each time it was rebuilt. Scavengers, farming and construction of the rail line through the area also churned up the soil. In 2004, 137 acres of land where Beaubassin was located were acquired by Parks Canada and designated as a National Historic Site. Located on the Fort Lawrence Ridge, the lands also include Fort Lawrence National Historic Site (1750-1756), designated in 1926. The property includes a significant portion of the former Acadian village, including the ruins of the Acadian cemetery and Fort Lawrence. As the story goes, there was once a brick wall around the cemetery. Burke says Lawrence described in his diary using the wall as cover from the French guns when his ship arrived under fire. The architectural ruins and features of the village, burned in 1750, attest to the Acadian way of life and to the geopolitical struggle between France and England for the control of Canada. As we stood on the dry grassy hillside where the Missaguash River meets the Bay of Fundy, Burke showed me the sections that have been marked off and unearthed with precision by the archaeologists. Over the last few seasons they have found an assortment of pottery, bits of metal and other artifacts that help map out the area and tell the story of how people lived here. For example, he says a large trove of needles, pins, belt buckles and buttons were found in one area, indicating the site of what was likely a shop or factory where clothing was manufactured. They also found large sections of animal bones that were used to make buttons, indicating that in such a remote place nothing was wasted. But at the same time they found a large trove of lead seals that were used to mark bales of textiles. He says the fact that these pieces of lead were cast aside is unusual because the lead could have been melted down and recycled into something else. "Just finding them is proof of the historical fact of the enormous trade that came through this area, but perhaps they were so common that tossing them aside was insignificant. But perhaps they were being stockpiled so they could be re-used for something else." The artifacts found here are being sent to a lab in Halifax and Burke says they will likely become part of an exhibit at nearby Fort Beauséjour, within sight across the low-lying marshlands. But the archaeological work here has barely begun. Burke says he'd really like to start digging in the area where the docks were located. As we spoke, I could almost see the village as it existed hundreds of years ago. Ships would sail up the bay and dock at the river to unload cargo that would be stored in nearby warehouses until they could be taken by cart to other communities. Today, there isn't much more than a few scattered stones but he expects there are treasures to be found not too far below the surface. But just down the road and through the field, there are some even more unusual relics of a huge construction project that was never finished. Large chunks of concrete and brick structures bear witness to Henry Ketchum's dream of the Chignecto Ship Railway. Ketchum, a New Brunswick-born engineer, had the idea of building a ship railway that would cross the Isthmus of Chignecto. His plan was to build docks at Fort Lawrence and Tidnish, N.S. The ships would be lifted out of the water onto railroad flatbed cars so they could be transported 27 kilometres over land and put back in the water. The idea would save time and money for shippers and travellers because they wouldn't have to sail around mainland Nova Scotia. Ketchum promoted the idea relentlessly and finally raised enough money to start construction in 1887. Work began at both ends and employed thousands of workers to dig out the approaches for the docks, build the rail bed and other infrastructure. The project was one of the most ambitious ever undertaken in the Maritimes and drew the attention of engineers, builders and investors around the world. But Ketchum ran into many problems, including the marshy soil that swallowed up everything he was building, political scandals and financial backers who lost interest. Without enough money or political will to continue, the project was abandoned in 1891. Ketchum died in Amherst in 1896, a broken man with a heart condition, at the age of 57. I have to wonder how things might have been different had the project been completed and changed transportation routes at the turn of the century. Places like Moncton, Sackville and Amherst - which grew to be dependant on the railroad - could have turned out much differently. Today there are a few standing reminders of Ketchum's broken dream. Photos, documents and the history of the project can be found on the University of New Brunswick website. In Tidnish, people can hike on the Ketchum trail and cross over a beautiful arched stone bridge that was built as part of the ship railway project. The local kids like to jump off it into the river. There's also a provincial park where you can have a picnic lunch, walk on the beach and read the signs showing where the docks were constructed. But on the Fort Lawrence side, only a few scattered hunks of concrete and brick amid the barbed wire fences and cow patties silently bear witness to history.
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