Fortress of Louisbourg - A Moment in Time

Hi Blog!

Monday, July 23, 2018, was our last full day on the shores of Bras d'Or Lake in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We were just a hop, skip and jump away from one of Canada's most famous National Historic Sites - Fortress of Louisbourg. We knew it was going to be a good day when as soon as we arrived at the Visitor's Center, we were greeted with not one, but TWO pairs of Red Chairs! If one is good, two is better!

Fortress of Louisbourg is not just a fort, but an entire fortified town. To date, one-quarter of the original town has been reconstructed. This site stands as the largest reconstruction project in North America. Even the reconstruction done in Williamsburg, Virginia, cannot compete with the size and scale of this reconstruction. That being said, Williamsburg's site is substantially larger than Fortress Louisbourg because Williamsburg consists mainly of original buildings.  

As we approached the Dauphin Gate, the King's Bastion loomed to the right shrouded in mist.

French settlement on Cape Breton Island started back in the early 17th century. The Fortress of Louisbourg was the capital for the French colony of Ile-Royale (Cape Breton Island). The fortifications were built to protect and provide a base for France's North American fishery.

Kathy gets ready to step back in time through the Dauphin Gate. The year is 1744, a year before the first British invasion, and business in Louisbourg is booming.

Folks in period dress go about their daily activities. Unlike Williamsburg, they are not "locked in time" reenacting the events of a particular day. They are more like ambassadors of the time period. They explain their costumes, their crafts and talk about what life was like back in the day; they can also give directions if we're turned around. As we walked up the main street, we looked back down toward the Frederic Gate standing ready to receive the next shipload of merchandise from France.

Walking through the streets and alleys and touring all the buildings, it's hard to believe that the only thing left after the second British invasion were the building foundations. They didn't want the French to come back, so they totally leveled the town.

In order to reconstruct Louisbourg, Parks Canada had to collect as much information as they could. It involved specialists and volunteers from every disciple - history, architecture, metalurgy, agriculture, military and construction. The amount of information available was incredible. In the reconstructed colonial engineer's office, there are copies of plans for the actual buildings originally built by the French in Louisbourg. The engineers had to submit plans to Montreal, Montreal had to send them to France, France had to approve them, send them back to Montreal, and then Montreal would send them back to Louisbourg. By that time, the building would most likely have been built and occupied for a year!

The ladies that work in the demonstration kitchens have the hottest job. Everyday they practice different recipes from the time period. Unfortunately, the public doesn't get to "sample" any of the goodies. However, there is a bakery building that makes whole wheat, half and half, and white bread which tourists can purchase. We took home one of each!

Before our afternoon adventures, we ducked in to the Hotel de la Marine for some lunch. The menu was determined by what was fresh and local. We could choose from trout, salmon and beef. It was served according to the traditions of the time. Including the tradition of filling every place at a table whether you knew the person or not. We had a very lively lunch conversation with a couple from Ontario and a researcher from Indianapolis. 

After lunch, we were due over at the Guardhouse outside the King's Bastion.

The King's Bastion Barracks could house over 500 men. They were quartered in rooms of 12 to 16 men, two per bunk. There were no mess halls and no workrooms. Men cooked, ate, drank, smoked, gambled and lived in their rooms.

The historical importance of Louisbourg was first protected back in 1928, when the area was designated a National Historic Site. However, it wasn't until the 1970's that the idea of reconstruction was first thought possible. With the closing of the coal and steel mills, the area was in desperate need of jobs that could teach the mine and mill workers new trades.

Educational programs at Louisbourg run throughout the day. We would have loved to attend them all, but some of them run concurrently. We had to skip the Rum tasting in favor of the Guided Tour. Had it been a beer tasting, we may have decided differently! However, our hands down favorite program was called "Have a Ball." We got to dress up like the French militia and fire a musket! 

Here Kathy carefully studies the procedure.

The muskets used at the fortress are reproductions of the original Charlesville musket used by the French. They are approximately 60 inches long and weight over 10lbs. There is a slight delay from the time you pull the trigger to the time the black powder goes boom. Kathy gets a helping hand to keep the musket steady as the charge goes off.

Unfortunately for Dave, when it was his turn, the wind had shifted!

While we enjoyed our basic training, we didn't sign up to enlist. It was 90 degrees and the full-length wool winter coats weighed about 40lbs!

The guided tour takes you all around the town. Many of the houses have their own French gardens. The produce is used in the local restaurants.

After touring Fortress Louisboug, we were excited to visit the location of the oldest lighthouse in Canada.  Construction began on the lighthouse in 1730 to assist navigation to Fortress of Louisbourg. It was completed in 1734. Over the years, four different styles of lighthouse graced the head.

The current lighthouse, built in 1923, is an octagonal concrete building decorated with neoclassical architectural features. The fog gave the lighthouse an aura of mystery.

We almost forgot to mention the Red Chairs!