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Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada

53 Historic Lane, Port Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1923/05/25

General view of Port-Royal showing the illustration of 17th-century function arrangements through the spatial relationship of buildings and landscape features, 1991.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, J.P. Jérôme
General view
General view of the Port-Royal demonstrating the grouping of structures around an inner courtyard within the stockade, 1990.; Parks Canada Agercy/ Agence Parcs Canada, B. Pratt
General view
Detail view of Port-Royal showing the design believed to be typical of 17th-century rural French architecture with wooden construction materials, 1979.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada
Detail

Other Name(s)

Port-Royal
Port-Royal
Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1939/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/06/27

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada consists of a group of wooden buildings within a stockade, erected as a historic reconstruction of an early 17th-century French fort. The habitation is located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin opposite Goat Island.

Heritage Value

Port-Royal was declared a national historic site to commemorate:
- the legacy of Port-Royal, French culture, commerce and colonization manifest in North America, 1605-1613,
- the experiences of Mi'kmaq and French colonists, 1605-1613
- the replica of the Habitation as a milestone in the Canadian heritage movement.

The heritage value of Port-Royal National Historic Site resides in the reconstructed buildings as an illustration of an early attempt at French colonization and as an example of an early twentieth-century approach to heritage conservation. Port-Royal National Historic Site was constructed in 1939.

Sources: HSMBC Minutes, 1994; Commemorative Integrity Statement, 1997.

Character-Defining Elements

Key features contributing to the heritage value of this site include:

- the grouping of structures around an inner courtyard within a stockade,
- the rectangular, two-storey massing of the buildings with high peaked roofs,
- the design believed to be typical of 17th-century rural French architecture,
- the wooden construction materials,
- the craftsmanship and construction techniques replicating 17th-century rural French building techniques, including interior furnishings,
- the illustration of 17th-century functional arrangements through the spatial relationship of buildings and landscape features,
- the well, pathways and other man-made landscape features,
- the siting between mountains and shore on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin with sheltered anchorage opposite Goat Island,
- the viewplanes from the basin's entrance to the river mouth at the opposite end of the basin.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1923/05/25

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1605/01/01 to 1613/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Community
Settlement

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate Documentation Centre 3rd Floor, room 366 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Québec J8X 0B3

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

311

Status

Published

Related Places

General view

Port Royal Habitation

Prominent and highly visible, the Habitation is the dominant structure in Port Royal National Historic Site. It consists of six contiguous structures around a central courtyard …

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