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Indian Beach

Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2010/01/11

This view of Indian Beach looking north is not seen by many. The only access is by hiking a challenging trail.  The cottage on the seawall is made from the stones of the seawall.; Larry Small 2009
Indian Beach, looking north in the fall, 2009
The aboriginals would come to Indian Beach on Grand Manan Island in the summertime to harvest porpoise and fish.; Grand Manan Archives photo collection - P8
Fisherman's huts at Indian Beach
Indian Beach has a natural seawall on which the aboriginal fisherman huts were built. This image is taken from the inner shore of Indian Beach pond looking out to the seawall.; Larry Small 2009
Indian Beach Seawall

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2010/03/24

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Indian Beach is fronted by the Grand Manan Channel with extreme strong currents. The back of the seawall has a small pond and then towering 90-100 metre cliffs. The seawall itself is about 400 metres long and is only accessible by boat or hiking a challenging trail.

Heritage Value

Indian Beach in Grand Manan is designated a Local Historic Place for its connection to our Island’s original seasonal settlers. The Passamaquoddy people would come to Indian Beach for the summer months to harvest porpoise and fish from the rich waters. They would dry the harvest on the seawall. They built camps to live in but did not spend the winters here. These seasonal patterns of the Passamaquoddy in the area were still active when documented in 1899 by W. F. Ganong. Existing pre-contact and early historical archaeological sites supply information on the seasonal habits of these groups and also suggest early permanent settlement of non-aboriginal groups. The area is also the source of many local folklore stories.

Source: Grand Manan Archives - Local Historic Places files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Indian Beach include:
- natural seawall made all of stone washed up from the ocean;
- accessible only by boat or by hiking trail;
- high cliffs surrounding the area;
- small pond located between the seawall and the beach;
- pre-contact and early historical archaeological resources.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

New Brunswick

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NB)

Recognition Statute

Local Historic Places Program

Recognition Type

Municipal Register of Local Historic Places

Recognition Date

2010/01/11

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1899/01/01 to 1899/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Peopling the Land
Settlement
Peopling the Land
Canada's Earliest Inhabitants

Function - Category and Type

Current

Undetermined (archaeological site)
Buried Site
Food Supply
Hunting or Resource Harvesting Site

Historic

Environment
Nature Element

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Grand Manan Archives, 1141 Route 776, Grand Manan, NB

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

2027

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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