Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Hi Blog!

We moved up to Calais, Maine on Wednesday. This is our last U.S. stop before we cross the border into Canada. In fact, we can see Canada from our parking spot! Because we are trying to get to Saint Anthony, Newfoundland for the Iceberg Festival, we are pushing the season a bit. Most of the campgrounds up north are not opened yet. We were lucky to find a spot at the Calais Motor Inn, which has a small parking lot for RVs with electric hookups. Not the most scenic of spots, but it puts us in a great location to explore this part of Maine before crossing the border.

After a morning of logistics, grocery shopping and Ruby walks, we decided to head down to the St. Croix Island International Historic Site.

In 1604, Pierre Dugua was granted a trading monopoly by King Henri IV. Dugua was directed to establish the name, power and authority of the King of France; to summon the natives to Christian religion and settle the land. He landed on St. Croix Island on the St. Croix River between present day Maine and New Brunswick, and made camp.

Dave is helping one of the crew on the best way to hoe.

The island is only 6.5 acres. It was easily defensible in case the local population objected to their presence. However, Dugua underestimated how harsh the winter would be. Once the river froze and the ice piled up, it was impossible to cross to the mainland to get fresh water or hunt for game. Many of the explorers died. However, the rest were saved by bread. The local Passamaquoddy villagers were so eager for more bread that as soon as the river was navigable, they crossed with fresh meat to trade for fresh bread.

As we explored the beach for sea glass and rocks, we heard a large roar. With all the recent rain, the culvert under the highway has turned into a thundering waterfall.

The beach was full of granite. No seaglass, but we did come home with a few granite pepples and some nice white quartz.

We would have loved to get down and explore this little cove of the St. Croix River, but it was just too steep to climb down.

On the way back from the St. Croix Island International Historic Site, we wanted to stop at the St. Croix River Lighthouse.  We turned on Lighthouse Road, only to find that the site was closed off to the public. We later learned that the lighthouse was destroyed. 

Here is a historic photos of the original St. Croix River Lighthouse prior to its destruction in 1956.  It was replaced by an automatic light which, in turn, burned down in 1976.

As we travel through Newfoundland this summer, we are sure there will be more lighthouses in our future. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.