Historic Castle Hill In Placentia

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Hi Blog!

After yesterday's long day of driving, we decided to stick closer to camp. Just a few miles south of Argentia Sunset Park is the town of Placentia. In 1655, the French, who then controlled more than half of the island of Newfoundland, and most of Atlantic Canada, made Plaisance (beautiful place) their colonial capital (1662-1713). They built Fort Plaisance in 1662, which was followed by Fort Royal in 1687, and Fort Saint Louis in 1691. The forts were located on top of a hill overlooking the narrow entrance to the port known as the "Gut." The hill became known as Castle Hill and it now a Parks Canada National Historic Site.

As soon as we arrived at the Visitor's Center, we were greeted by both French and British Soldiers.

The outside of the Visitor Center  looks like it was constructed to resemble an extension of the fort. It is tucked in between the existing fort and a detached redoubt. The roof of the building is covered in grass.

Before we began our exploration of the fort area, we watched a park video on the evolution of the different forts. We were also given a set of headphones and a small Sandisk mini-player with an audio tour with 18 different stops.

No one knows when the first European fishermen visited Placentia, which was close to rich fishing grounds. Basque fisher folk visited for more than a century before the French colony was founded in 1662.  The visitor center has a diorama that depicts what the Basque fishing stages and flakes may have looked like:

The French fortified the hill and sheltered harbor to protect their extensive cod fishery. France successfully defended the site in war, but the colony was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The French colonists were moved to Île-Royale (now Cape Breton island) to what’s now Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. The map pictured below shows the extent of the earthworks.

The English maintained a garrison here until 1811 and changed the name of the town to Placentia (1713-1811). In 1762, French forces temporarily occupied St. John's, and Fort Royal was upgraded. After 1763, Placentia's status declined in favor of St. John's and in 1811, the few remaining troops in Placentia were moved to St. John's.  From the photo below, you can see not only how the fort commanded the Placentia harbor, but what a beautiful, striking position this beautiful little town occupies:

 

The fort was abandoned and the site slowly began returning to nature. The site was stabilized and interpreted by Parks Canada as a national historic park between 1962-1968 to commemorate Placentia’s 300th Anniversary. The walls and foundations of the buildings were exposed and the new wooden palisade was installed where the original wooden spikes had been.

From high atop the fort, we can look down on Placentia and its iconic lift bridge. There were a number of smaller ferry services offering passage over the tidal waterway, but the biggest change came when the Americans arrived and created the Argentia Naval Base in 1941, occupying the nearby town of Argentia. They brought the supplies and materials to create a pontoon bridge in September 1941, but the heavy currents washed the bridge away by December of that year. The solution of a lift bridge came into fruition in 1961. Canadian Premier Joey Smallwood, a native of Newfoundland, was the first person to drive across the new bridge.

Pictured below is a diorama of Fort Royal. By the late 1680's, Fort de Plaisance was crumbling. In 1693, the French erected Fort Royal. After the British took over, they modified Fort Royal in 1762 and changed its name to Castle Graves.

An early painting of the town from the harbor side shows the buildings lined along the beach and Castle Graves high above the entrance to the harbor.

The over 300 years of occupation allowed the archaeologists to uncover loads of artifacts. The Visitor Center has them displayed according to time frame. One of the oldest artifacts is the tombstone pictured below. The inscription is in Basque. The grave was that of Jean Svigaraicipi, a Basque sea captain licensed to practice piracy in times of war. He was killed raiding the English settlement in Ferryland (nearby on the easternmost leg of the Avalon Peninsula) in 1694.

A visit to a Parks Canada site would not be complete without finding those now famous Red Chairs. In 2011, team members at Gros Morne National Park -- right here in Newfoundland! -- came up with the idea to place 18 sets of Adirondack chairs in lesser-known, but just as stunning locations, inviting visitors to enjoy and share on social media. They even ran a contest where the first people to find all 18 pairs won their very own red chairs to enjoy. The idea caught on and other Parks Canada locations began adding chairs. After 12 years in the sun, the red chairs are more brown than red. However, the duller color doesn't lessen our enjoyment of finding them and enjoying the view!

Our time in Newfoundland is winding down. We have one more outing planned as long as the weather holds out, so stay tuned.