PREFACE
The history of
Louisbourg following its British capture in 1758 is a record of decline - the decline of a
once populous city to obscurity and finally to extinction, existing only as an historical
monument to a once glorious past.
The purpose of this
study is to consider the habitation that existed in Louisbourg after 1758. Special
interest is focused on the extent of population and the pattern of settlement. The
influence of government policy, the location of lots and buildings in Louisbourg, and the
background and influence of the main post-1758 occupants are also considered.
The basic material
for this study was taken from various sources. The Dominion Archives provided pertinent
information in the form of documents such as the Dartmouth and Amherst Papers, and the
Colonial Office correspondence [C.O. 5, 217, 218]. The Nova Scotia Archives produced
further Colonial Office correspondence, the Minutes of the Halifax Council, papers of the
Halifax Legislative Council, Minutes of the Cape Breton Council and additional Cape Breton
Papers. Information concerning land grants and transactions was found in the Sydney
Registry of Deeds, the Halifax Crown Grant Office, and the Nova Scotia Archives. Pertinent
material, on the early twentieth century in particular, was found in the Sydney Public
Library, especially in the McLennan Collection. Maps of importance were from various
sources. The Louisbourg Research Map Collection contained several valuable maps. One was
Thomas Wright's depiction of Louisbourg in 1766 (M.A.C. 145), which gives us some idea of
the state of the west end of the city, particularly in the old French Block I. A plan of
1767, (M.A.C. 180) by Ens. George Sproule of the 59th Regiment gives us an idea of the
condition and nature of the buildings as well as the level of occupancy at that date.
Samuel Holland's map of 1768 (M.A.C. 146), accompanying the plan sent by
Lieutenant-Governor Francklin to Earl of Hillsborough in the same year, provides all the
details with respect to inhabitants, buildings occupied, and state of the buildings. A
chart drawn up in 1857-58 (M.A.C. 155) by Commander J. Orlebar and assistant, and one
drawn up in 1896 (M.A.C. 156) by J.E. Richards give an indication of the number and
general position of the buildings.
A survey map in
1827 by Benjamin Cossit (the original in the N.S.P.A.) shows the owners and structures at
Old Town. Another plan (at Halifax Crown Lands Office) shows 50 acres licensed by four
Kennedy brothers in 1861. The Church map of 1864 (at N.S.P.A.) gives an indication of
inhabitants and their houses. Four survey maps prior to and for 1901 (at the Halifax Crown
Lands Office) by Kenneth McIntosh show lot boundaries, owners, and structures. Another
1922 survey map by J.H. Congdon, the map on which the government take-over of the fortress
lands was based, given boundaries, owners, and some indication of structures (available at
Sydney Library McLennan Collection). These are the maps and plans of greatest assistance
in gaining some specific idea on the occupation pattern in Louisbourg.
Other sources were in
the form of eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century travel literature, historical
society addresses, Cape Breton newspaper articles, general histories, histories written
about Cape Breton specifically, and portions of the correspondence of the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel.
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