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LOUISBOURG HERITAGE NOTES 
IN THE LOUISBOURG SEAGULL

Extracted from © The Seagull

March 1998

Its been over a year now since I wrote for the Seagull. Having had a bit of a rest, I thought I would start again and see how it goes. If you have any topics you would like researched please contact me.

I’ve been working on a collection of place names of Louisbourg. Eventually it may get printed. Until then here are some places.

The American House was located on the south side of Main Street in the vicinity of the Town Hall. Charles J. Mitchell had the building constructed and later sold it to D. J. Kennelly. It was a community meeting hall and commercial building. Melvin Huntington records going to political meetings there in April 1897. In January 1902 the building, which was valued at $3,000.00, was destroyed in a fire. At the time it was suspected that the fire was caused by a defective stove. The lower floor of the building housed Epstein & Ein, merchants and Joseph Ballah who dealt in clothing. The Masons, Sons of Temperance and Salvation Army met in rooms on the second floor. It was believed at the time that the Masonic Lodge lost all its regalia in this fire. However, according to Harvey Lewis the regalia was saved and stored in the Dickson store. This building was located on the south side of Main street, across from St. Bartholomew’s Church. The area is a parking lot now. Unfortunately in March 1902 there was another fire in Louisbourg and the Dickson building burned to the ground.

Cross Roads (Also referred to as Pope’s Corner or Pope’s Turn.)

This is in West Louisbourg at the point where Route 22 and the French Road ( road to Park Administrative offices) meet. Michael Pope opened a store here in 1916. This was part of the ongoing speculation that there would be a railroad built along the coast from St. Peters. The cross roads was where all the West Louisbourg people hung out, summer or winter. It was a natural gathering spot even before the store was opened, probably related to the school house located nearby. It was said that even if you went there late at night you would end up talking with someone.

A ledge of rocks north and east of upper Kent Street. Fifty years ago much of the tree cover had been removed and the High Rocks stood out.

Harvey MacLeod remembers at least one occasion on which Charles Dickson, Truman Hunt and others burned piles of brush on the High Rocks at Hallowe’en.

In May 1942 Melvin Huntington writes that he " went to the High Rocks north of the town and followed the newly constructed line to the Edward Holland property on the old Sydney Road where a National Defence project is in course of construction."

Harvey Lewis remembers the High Rocks in relation to the Coronation of George V on June 22, 1936. He said that the Boy Scouts were part of a project to have celebratory bonfires from coast to coast. They assembled a fifteen foot high pile of brush along with a few tires and the "waste" out of the coal car bearings. There was also a platform made of poles with two metal pipes as rocket launchers and 21 rockets to be set off by the patrol leaders. The first rocket was fired off successfully. It was followed by 19 more ignited by the flash from the first. Unfortunately they were lying horizontally on the platform and fired out over the heads of spectators gathered to watch the event.

The Old Town refers to the area within the walls of the 18^th-century Fortress and possibly the area outside the West Gate as far as the old French causeway. The late James Pope made this distinction in a conversation I had with him many years ago. West Louisbourg, then would be that section of the north shore of the harbour from the old French causeway to just before old Stella Maris church where the Town of Louisbourg began.

But early on people began to refer to everything west of incorporated Louisbourg as Old Town. A correspndant to the Daily Record for January 1901 writing about municpal boundaries says " At some future time the boundaries may be changed and enlarged so as to include what is at present called "Old Town" which is the true site of the Old French town of Louisburg. Old town is a place distinct from Louisburg, having a post office and a school of its own."

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