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Researching the
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada
Former Streets: ALFRED STREET / BAGNALL STREET / WATER STREET
( south from Main to Commercial )
Aberdeen Street was named in honour of John Campbell Gordon, 1 st Marquis of Aberdeen and Temar. He was the Governor General of Canada from 1893 until 1898. The name was one of those chosen in December 1902 by the Town Council. Aberdeen is remembered, along with his wife, for devotion to good works and sympathies for Liberals in Britain and Canada. These sympathies made relations with Conservative governments difficult during his term here as the Queen's representative. But given the fact that Liberals were very influential in Louisbourg 88 years ago, it is not surprising that Aberdeen was a popular choice when naming a new street.32
The establishment of Aberdeen Street provides an early instance of a disagreement between the Council and the Ratepayers over development of the town. The Coal Company wished to close off the lower street where it was crossed by the shipping pier, stopping free access along the waterfront. In return, the Company agreed to purchase land and create a new street giving access from Main to the waterfront. The Sydney Record for February 26, 1902 noted that,
"There is a question of considerable importance at present under discussion by our townspeople. Last year the Dominion Coal Co. offered to purchase property and build a new street if the citizens would sign a petition to have the portion of Water street below the shipping pier (where the company has several railway tracks) closed for traffic. A petition from the company was brought here for signature but was for some reason kept very quiet, only twenty of our leading citizens being asked to sign it, which they did. The great majority of the ratepayers never saw the petition - in fact never heard of it - until the coal company got an act passed through the local legislature empowering them to close the portion of Water street below their pier and open a new street from Main to Water street.
A petition has been largely signed here of late asking the local government that in view of the fact that only a few people signed the Coal Co.'s petition that the great bulk of the ratepayers of the town were completely in ignorance of such petition, and are also strongly opposed to the closing of that portion of Water street, that they have the act passed by them last session revoked.
A meeting of the ratepayers was held last Tuesday evening, where all were unanimous in opposing the closing of that portion of Water street in question by the Dominion Coal Co. It was also unanimously passed by those present at the meeting to send a representative from here to request the local government to repeal the act of last session ..."
Mayor Lewis travelled to Halifax for advice on this first crisis. He apparently received support from the Provincial Government for when he returned the Council confirmed the agreement with the Coal Company to close the lower street and open the new one.33
The Aberdeen street properly was purchased from John N. Spencer.34 Spencer was contracted to move the County Building which was located on Main Street at the point where the new street was to begin.35 The County Building, which also served as council chambers and lockup, was moved to the west side of Aberdeen just south of Alex Storm's property in the vicinity of Rovie's Pizzeria. It continued to served as a Jail and later the fire station until the 1960s.36 It was torn down in the mid 1970s.
Aberdeen is called Clinker Street on a Department of National Defence Map of 1943/5.37 It is not known if this was a common name, nor whether it referred to a cinder road bed or the jail.
( north from Main to Huntington Av.)
Albert Street, designated by the Town Council in December 1902, was named in honour of Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha who died of typhoid in 1861. Albert's death so shattered the Queen that for the next fifteen years she withdrew from public life.38 Albert Jewell operated a store on the corner of Main and Albert, early in this century, but the street was not named after him.39
( south from Main to Commercial)
The street is called "Alexander" in the December 1902 Sydney Record report on Louisbourg streets. It continues to be called Alexander in the January 1990 Land Registration Information Service computer printout. The 1908 McAlpine Directory cites both Alexander and Alexandra while the Directory of 1914 uses only Alexander.40 Alexander appears again in the 1928 "Might" Directory,41 the Department of National Defence Plan of 1943/45 and the 1926 and 1952 Insurance Plans of the town. These references to the street as Alexander instead of Alexandra have probably been in error, beginning with the 1902 newspaper report. The most credible source for this opinion is Melvin S. Huntington, the Mayor of Louisbourg from 1926 to 1946. Huntington had lived in Louisbourg since 1896 and was aware of municipal affairs and sensitive to historical matters. In a diary entry of September 5, 1938 he writes the name very clearly as Alexandra.
The street was named in honour of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII who was crowned on August 9, 1902.42 The new royal couple was foremost in the minds of the citizens of Louisbourg in 1902. The Sydney Record of June 23, outlines the preparations being made to celebrate Coronation Day. The Louisbourg Council voted money for the event and many of the citizens had contributed. lt was planned to have sailboat races, a rowing race, bicycle race and a football game along with other amusements and fireworks in the evening.
The article goes on to mention that " ... the school children will also parade in the morning. There will be firing of cannon, and one (cannon) that will make the shores of old Loulsburg resound was employed during the siege of 1758. Altogether the day will be fittingly celebrated in this town. The various committees are working hard to make the day a memorable one in this town, one of the old historic battlegrounds of North America."
Edward was not crowned on June 26, having to undergo an emergency appendectomy. The Louisbourg plans were probably cancelled. But he was crowned on August 9 and the day before the event Mayor Lewis requested that the citizens consider the day an official holiday in Louisbourg.43
lt is hard to imagine the newly-crowned Queen being overlooked when James MacPhee's committee was deliberating on appropriate street names later that fall.
(west off Upper Warren)
Alma street probably commemorates the first battle of the Crimean War fought on September 20,1854.44 M. G. Henniger's plan of McAlpine Street in July 1902 either indicates an existing lane or recommends a street in this location. The street is specifically mentioned in the 1928 Might Directory of Louisbourg. In Louisbourg at the turn of the century there is some evidence that the Crimean War, thought long past, had not been forgotten. The Sydney Post for April 14,1904 talks of John MacPherson who had moved from Catalone to Louisbourg three years previously, having been in Odessa, on the Black Sea, the day the British took Sebastopol, the great Russian stronghold. Alma is a street that the 1952 Insurance Plan proposal extended west until it met Lorway Street.
( north from Main )
Beatrice Street was named for the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria. The name is established by the time of the 1908 McAlpine Directory. Beatrice has gained some fame among historians for destroying Queen Victoria's diaries and altering, substantially, those passages which she copied.45
( west off Holland )
Edward Braddock, a British general, was killed in 1755 in an ambush by French and Indian forces near Fort Duquesne, today's Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.46
Braddock Avenue, along with Holland Avenue and Verrier Crescent, were constructed in 1961/62, as part of the development of the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site.47 The houses built on these streets provided accommodations for the staff coming to work on the new project. The streets were conveyed to the Town of Louisbourg in 1975.48
It has been difficult to determine why Braddock's name was felt appropriate for a street. If one were looking for a British officer there are alternatives with more direct involvement at Louisbourg. Jeffrey Amherst is an obvious example, but there are also the military engineers Bastide and Mackellar. Alex Storm's remembrances of discussions during the winter of 1961/62 shed some light on the process. He notes that the Park was at the time managed by engineers, professional in their field, but with a rudimentary knowledge of Louisbourg's history. He recalls a meeting at which the names Verrier and Holland were chosen, possibly because of their involvement with engineering and surveying. Searching around for another name someone said something to the effect, "Braddock . . . he was a general back then". And a street was born.
( north from Main )
The name of this street was inspired by good friendship and a dinner party. lt is named in honour of the steamship Britannic and first appears as such in the McAlpine Directory of 1908.
In April 1901, the Britannic had been sailing between Louisbourg and Boston for eighteen months. During that time, Captain Neilson and his family had resided in the town. However, his wife and family were planning to return to Norway and the Britannic was to be on the Sydney to Montreal run the next season. On the 17th of April he invited several citizens of Louisbourg to a dinner party on board his ship where,
" After partaking of the good things provided by the steward of the Britannic, Captain Wilson stated that he had invited the friends present tonight to commemorate the fiftieth voyage of the Britannic between Loulsburg and Boston. He regretted his accommodations were so small that he was unable to invite a larger number, and he and his family had the kindliest recollections of the people of Louisburg, and would never forget them...... Mayor Lewis responded on behalf of the town of Louisburg, stating every person regretted that Captain Wilson and his family were soon to remove from our midst. Captain Fraser and Mr. Keefe responded on behalf of the Dominion Coal Company, thanking Capt. Wilson for his kind words, also stating that the Company could not but be satisfied with the faithful service rendered them. Mr. LeVatte, U. S. Consular Agent, Joseph O'Toole and Capt. R. H. Cann also expressed their regret at the departure of Capt. Wilson and family. About half past nine o'clock one of the most enjoyable dinners ever held in Louisburg broke up, all the guests expressing themselves as having spent a delightful evening."49
A year later, the Daily Record mentions that the Britannic was in the harbour loading coal. lt states that Captain Neilson and his family had lived in Louisburg previously for a period of two years and that his many friends were glad to see him.49a
So there you have it, a popular Captain, a ship with a patriotic sounding name, and, "one of the most enjoyable dinners every held in Louisburg". When it came to suggesting a name might not Mayor Lewis or Councillor O'Toole or County Warden LeVatte have wanted to say thanks as well?
The name Mechanic Street is applied to this location in the 1958 Cape Breton District Telephone Directory and the 1989 Maritime Tel & Tel Directory. There is no other record of this name being used nor any indication of how it originated.50
( west off Lower Warren )
Centre street appears in the 1928 Might Directory. For many years the only house on the street was the home of John Weatherbee, merchant and undertaker. For the past 50 years this same building has been the home of Guy M. Hiltz, a former mayor of Louisbourg.
In the 1952 Insurance plan there is a proposed extension of the street to meet Alexandra. In fact what has happened is a loop south to meet Commercial Street. Is this southern section Centre Street too?
Guy Hiltz remembers that the street used to be called Murphy's lane after the Murphy family who lived on Main Street in the house now owned by Sam Carter He also mentioned that at one time there were plans to call the street Lewis Street, since ft was on the southern boundary of the property of Mayor W. W Lewis.51
( e/w along the harbour from Wolfe to Aberdeen )
In 1902 the Town Council determined that, " . . . the lower street, generally called Water street, will in future be Commercial Street."
It is safe to conclude that the name of this street, was changed to highlight the optimism of the newly incorporated town. It was a time of growth.52 The railway brought work, and new businesses and families were relocating here. In addition to the Sydney and Louisburg Railway and the Dominion Coal company pier, there was talk of a rail line direct to St. Peters,53 and establishing Louisbourg as the base for transatlantic passenger shipping.54 Negotiations were underway for a Marine Hospital.55 And, D. J. Kennelly was beginning to draw international attention to the ruins of the 18th-century fortress.56
Renaming the street was also an attempt to shed the reputation attached to the Water Streets of other port towns. For in common with these, Louisbourg's Water Street had its share of bars and pool halls. Former mayor Harvey Lewis, relates that his father George D. Lewis used to tell the story that at one time there were seven places along the waterfront where a thirsty man could get a drink. And for an earlier period, the Toronto World of April 25, 1896, citing Rev. T. F. Draper as its source, points to no less than thirteen places where liquor was openly though illegally sold. Many of these places were probably along the waterfront.
In 1904 William McKinnon opened a restaurant on Commercial street near the coal pier. The Sydney Record for November 29 applauded the move saying, "This is something that is very needful to the working men about the coal pier. A nice plate of hot soup can be obtained at Mr. McKinnons and about midnight at this season, what is better for a man working in the cold air than a plate of good soup. It is much better than whisky, said a workman yesterday."
Commercial Street has been the victim of cutting and slicing since the early days of the century. In 1902 the Dominion Coal Company closed off the east end to enlarge the "coal pocket."57 And then in 1950/52 when the fish plant was constructed, the street was divided into two sections east and west of Gerratt Brook.58
( north from Main )
Elwood Street was conveyed to the town by E.S. and Mary McAlpine in 1904 according to a newspaper account.59 A search has not found any record in the Registry office, though it may not have been a formal agreement.
The origin of Elwood, as a street name, has always been something of a mystery. But even small streets can attract attention. Several years ago a visitor to Louisbourg, from the United States, wrote Harvey Lewis, who was mayor at the time, to say he was happy to see that the town had two streets celebrating his name - Elwood Spencer.60
Now for some speculation. In December 1902 the Council named one of its streets Edward, though the location wasn't specified. In the 1908 McAlpine Directory, Roderick Kerr and Murdock MacDonald were living on Edward Street. MacDonald's house is now the home of Alex Smith located on the street we refer to as Elwood.
Given the fact that 1902 was Coronation year for Edward VII, it is next to impossible to believe that the Town Council would not follow through with its proposal and assign the name to a specific street. So what we are suggesting is that there was an Edward Street and that it became Elwood through the mistake of a typesetter being unable to read someones handwriting. Take a close look "Edward/Elwood".
( west off Upper Warren )
Fourth Street is not actually a street. lt is a Town-owned property which could someday be opened up as a street. It is identified as 4th Street on the Land Registration and Information Service Map for Louisbourg. M. G. Henniger's McAlpine Street plan of 1902 locates a street in this general area.
( north from Main then east to Albert )
Gordie Street is an example of individual initiative. It was named for Gordon Stevens, Sr., who opened Steven's Grocery Store on the corner of Main and Minto streets in 1914. The street was traditionally called Gordie's lane and received official status from Council some time in the 1960's. We are not certain of the exact date because the Council minute was destroyed in the 1982 fire at the Town Hall.
Dougie Stevens, Gordon's grandson, and present owner of the family business tells of the origin of the street in this fashion. In the late l950's Louisbourg was served by a Dutch doctor named, Soesting. The doctor, when making his rounds, often had difficulty finding houses in this area of town and would come into the store to ask for directions. On one occasion he suggested to Dougie's father, Gordon Jr., that it would be helpful if the street had a sign. Gordon Jr., responded immediately by saying that the next time the doctor came around there would be a sign. And there was.61
( east off Havenside Road )
Harbourview Drive gets its name from the grand view it provides of the harbour and the reconstructed Fortress of Louisbourg. The name was suggested by Mrs. Alice Skinner. 62
Town Council minutes for April 2, 1973 note that, "The subject of naming 3 town streets, not yet named was discussed. Moved, Councillor MacKeigan, sec. Councillor MacRury that the new street on Havenside be named Harbourview Drive. Carried. Huntington Avenue was probably another of the streets named that evening. No one remembers the third.
Harbourview Drive was called Bagnall street in the 1928 Might Directory and the 1926 Insurance Plan. The A. F. Church plan shows an R. Bagnall living in this area at the end of the harbour. And the 1871 census confirms Robert Bagnall, a fisherman, his wife Harriet and their 1 year old son Thomas were living in Louisbourg with Harriet's brother, Thomas Tutty.63 For many years Thomas Bagnall lived in the house on Havenside Road now the property of Josh Marsden.64
( from Main Street south around the harbour )
The Louisbourg Council indicated in 1902 that, "the south side of the town will be known as Havenside. The interesting point here is that the Council was not naming a road, but the entire south side of Louisbourg. "Havenside" was the name of the home built by the engineer and entrepreneur F N. Gisborne at what is now called Kennelly's Point. Gisborne's Cape Breton Coal and Railway Company began a narrow gauge railway line to Louisbourg in 1874, completing it in 1879. Louisbourg was seen as the terminus of a great trading system, a transhipment port for grain and a coaling station for transatlantic steamers. To accommodate the growth in population expected as a result of the boom, Gisborne designed a "New Town". Either he, or D. J. Kennelly, who purchased the assets of the company in 1879, had the streets surveyed and cut out, and constructed a number of buildings including a small hotel, blacksmith shop and houses for workmen. The ruins are in the trees above Careening Cove. As with many projects begun in this period the railway did not last. A forest fire In 1883 destroyed many of the wooden bridges and trestles along the line and it was abandoned.65
Kennelly stayed on as owner of the Marine Park Hotel and several other establishments in the town. He became interested in the fortifications in Old Town and purchased some of the property to ensure the survival of the ruins. He began the Louisburg Memorial Fund and was responsible for the Fortress site becoming the first in Nova Scotia to be protected by Provincial Legislation.66
There have been other names for this part of town. Charles Burke, of Havenside, discovered newspapers when he was repairing his house addressed to Mrs. Thomas Townsend "South Louisburg". M. G. Hennigar surveyed the road and calls it Harbor Street on his plan of September 1901.67
( off Verrier Crescent curving n/w )
Holland Avenue is named for Samuel Holland, a Dutch-born British army officer, military engineer and surveyor. It was named in late 1961 or early 1962 by Fortress of Louisbourg staff. Holland was an assistant engineer in the 1758 expedition against Louisbourg. He surveyed the area, took soundings, prepared plans and gave engineering advice. After the siege Holland surveyed the town, the fortifications and the surrounding area. In the winter of 1758 he mapped the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River with his pupil James Cook, in preparation for the attack on Quebec. He took part in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and was wounded. As Surveyor General of the Northern District of North America he surveyed Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton.68
An interesting sidelight to Holland's work at Louisbourg was discovered several years ago by historian John Johnston. For many years it was believed that the first formal effort to commemorate the 18th-century history of Louisbourg was the Society of Colonial Wars monument of 1895. However, Holland erected a memorial in 1767. It was made from the cut stone of the fortifications and had an inscription. How long the memorial stood and what became of ft is not known.69
And finally, there is no known relationship between Samuel Holland and the Holland family that has lived in the Louisbourg area for a number of years. The 1871 Census records Michael Holland, 30 years old employed as a servant and Angus Holland, 26 employed as a fisherman. Both are recorded as Irish. In the 1891 Census Michael, now a farmer, indicates his father was born in Ireland.70
( from Main curving to e/w to the S&L station )
Huntington Avenue is named for Melvin S. Huntington who was mayor of Louisbourg from 1926 to 1946.71 The street was designated by Council in May 1973.72
Melvin S. Huntington's family came from Salmon River on the Mira.73 He came to Louisbourg in 1896, worked on the coal pier and then spent some time as a travelling salesman for Miller Brothers, a Halifax music firm. From early in the century he operated a small retail business, first at the north east corner Aberdeen and Main where the fire station is located, then the north west corner of Lower Warren and Main. His store is part of the Lewis and Company complex.74
Huntington was a member of the Louisburg Citizens' Band and later the Louisburg Brass Band, he sang regularly in the Methodist and the First United Church choirs and appeared in local concerts. He was an avid gardener and birdwatcher. He also had a long-standing interest in the history of 18th century Louisbourg doing much to promote its awareness in local and official circles. From 1905 until 1961 he kept a diary of Louisbourg life which includes weather, ship arrivals and departures, band and choir practice, weddings, deaths, fires and important local events. His diary notes provide us with a sampling of events in Louisbourg during its first half century.75
On Tuesday, 20 June 1961 Huntington wrote, " A news item in today's issue of the Halifax Chronicle Herald stated that the Dominion Steel and Coal Company had officially closed the Louisbourg Pier to shipping. lt also stated that a watchman and an office worker had been dismissed. The Pier had been closed for the past two years as far as major shipping was concerned. The watchman and the officer worker that were recently dismissed were John Hill and Harold Wilson respectively.
The construction of the Pier in question was begun in the autumn of 1894 and completed during the summer of 1895, and the first shipment of coal over ft took place in September of that year. The contracting firm that build the Pier was MacDonald and Moffit so I was informed after I arrived here in the year 1896."
Several years later the S&L tracks were lifted and the road bed became Huntington Avenue. The area is still referred to by young and old as the "Back Tracks".
( e/w between Marconi and Pepperrell )
This street was named in the 1970's for Daniel M. Johnston who was mayor of Louisbourg between 1954 and 1957.76 Johnston operated a small grocery store and was Louisbourg's undertaker. He was also employed by the town for a number of years prior to being elected mayor. Melvin Huntington, in a list of town officials in his 1941 diary, notes that Johnston's duties as a municipal employee included, "Policeman, school attendance officer, sanitary inspector, jailer, inspector under the fire ordinance, tax collector, meter reader for the electric light department and traffic authority".
When naming this street the choices were Johnston or G. B. Hiltz. Hiltz was mayor between 1946 and 1949 and owned property in the adjacent to the road. A tailor by trade, he came to Louisbourg from Truro in the early years of the century."77
( north from Main, crossing Huntington Avenue, then n/e )
This street was probably named for Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria. It appears in the 1908 McAlpine Directory. The Duke of Kent was stationed in Halifax between the years 1794 and 1801 as commander of the forces in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He is remembered for beginning an ambitious rebuilding of Halifax defences. He also encouraged a number of architecturally significant projects in Halifax including St. George's round church and the Town Clock.
Kent was something of a martinet and disliked by his troops. On leaving Halifax he transferred to Gibraltar where he put down a discontented garrison with such vigour that a mutiny almost occurred.78 He was promoted upstairs and send back to England.
There was a Kent in Louisbourg at the turn of the century. M. J. Kent operated the Carlton House, a restaurant and rooming house, on the corner of Main and Aberdeen, on the location of the fire station. Carlton House was named after his wife's home in Carleton, New Brunswick.79
( diagonally n/e off Kent )
This small lane has been called Lamont's lane for many years.80 lt appears on the 1926 Insurance Plan but is not named again until the Land Registration Information Service Map in the 1980's. Duncan Lamont came to Louisbourg from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. 81 He was resident in Louisburg with his wife and family at the time of the 1891 census. The Sydney Record for May 27, 1902 notes that he was building a new house. Lamont was a tinsmith and shop owner specializing in hardware, plumbing and heating. He was also an active participant in the original Louisburg Citizens' Band and the Louisbourg Brass Band.82 He is an ancestor of the Peck family still living in Louisbourg.83 Lamont is a Scottish name.84 Lamond, a name common in years past on the Mira, is a variant.
( n/e from Main )
Levatte's Lane led to the house built in 1904 by Martin Levatte Sr. who operated a blacksmith shop in Louisbourg. It is called Levatte Street in the Sydney Daily Post on October 16, 1903.The Levatte family came from Main a Dieu. At the turn of the century Martin's brother H.C.V Levatte, also a resident of Louisbourg, was the Warden of Cape Breton County and an influential member of the Liberal party.85
( north from Main )
Lorway street is mentioned in the Sydney Daily Record on 30 July 1904 when Councillor MacPhee asked for a better covering on the Lorway Street bridge. The street is on the 100 acres owned by John Lorway, whose home was on the site of the National Sea Products fish plant.86
The Lorways had a long association with Louisbourg. In 1802, Richard Lorway petitioned Governor Despard for title to land he had occupied in Louisbourg for 8 years. He indicates that he emigrated from Great Britain in 1784.87 The 1818 census of Louisbourg, on the other hand, notes that Richard Lorway had been in Cape Breton for 37 years but that his parents came from Albany, New York.88 Abraham Cuyier, a former mayor of Albany, New York and leader of the Associated Loyalists, mentions - Lorway. Cuyler's group wintered in Louisbourg in 1784 before moving on to Sydney.89
It was land and marriage that brought Richard back to Louisbourg from Sydney for he married one of the Townsend family.90 In 1826 Richard's son, James Lorway, petitioned for his father's land between Gerards Brook and John Townsend's land.91
At one point, a number of years ago, Lorway Street was known as Beaver's Lane.
( w off Pepperrell )
This is not recognized as a street by the Land Registration Information Service map or printout in 1990. However, the 1928 Might Directory of Louisburg as well as the 1926 and 1952 Insurance Plans name it. Since there are no Council records surviving from this period it is impossible at this point to discover if it ever had any official status in the town. In 1928 Ronald and Daniel MacLean lived there.
( n from Main )
Burns MacMillan is the only living person to have his name associated with one of Louisbourg's streets. MacMillan's Lane is found in the Land Registration and Information Service map for 1990. Burns came to Louisbourg from New Boston with his family on December 23,1926. As a young man he worked on the steel boats. He later worked with the Dominion Coal Company, and Nova Scotia Power Company and the Fortress of Louisbourg. For thirteen years Burns and his wife, Shirley, operated a taxi in Louisbourg.92
( e/w through Louisbourg )
We'll never know why the Town Fathers failed to chose a more monumental name when they proclaimed that, " The street from the Sydney and Louisburg railway station to Jerret's Bridge will be known as Main street."93
It is the oldest street in town, following the line of the French road begun in 1734 to connect the Fortress and Baleine. The road was about 12 feet wide, ditched and bridged where needed. Funds ran out before Baleine was reached and by 1740 the road was in very bad condition. A French engineer travelling the road in 1756 took 2 1/2 hours to reach Little Lorraine from Louisbourg. Along the road there were places where it is reported a traveller could sink up to his knees in the marsh. A coastal path followed by local inhabitants was preferred to the road.94
In spite of its deplorable condition throughout the 18th century, the road continues to be shown on all of the later maps and is, as a result, the patriarch of our streets.
Perhaps the most significant event to happen along Main Street was reported in a Sydney Daily Post article of May 27, 1919. On the 24th of May the town organized a welcome home for the Louisbourg veterans of the Great War. It was a beautiful spring day with clear skies when the citizens of the town met at the S&L station and paraded, led by the brass and pipe bands, along Main Street to Riverdale and then back to the terrace in front of George Lewis' house for a civic reception. Mayor McAlpine welcomed the veterans and presented each with a framed certificate.
On a macabre note, the Sydney Daily Post article for 24 July 1902 reports a skeleton found at Louisbourg. lt seems that workmen were digging a trench to hook up the water from the main pipe to the house of James MacPhee, at what is now Ashley Manor on the corner of Lorway and Main. While doing this, they came across a thigh bone, pelvis, skull and jawbone.
According to the Post, "The size of the bones would indicate the man to be about six feet tall, and the full set of teeth so well preserved showed him to be comparatively a young man. The body would have laid north and south with the head on the limits of the street. A bullet was found mingled in the clay ... the theory is that he was shot during the siege and buried by the roadside. The bones have been carefully boxed and buried."94a
Speculating even more, it is possible that this burial is associated with a French chapel which was located in this area. To date there has been no written record found but there is an undated map in the Fortress archives ( ND 99 ) which shows a small chapel.
Main street was paved and the new bridge over Gerratt Brook opened in 1954. Major changes were made to Main Street as part of the Louisbourg 1995 Commemoration activities surrounding the 275th anniversary of the founding of the French town, the 250th anniversary of the New England siege of 1745 and the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the Sydney & Louisburg Railway. This consisted of major sewer and water replacement, new paving and sidewalks in the central part of the community along with the removal of power lines and installation of new street lamps. Work has continued into 1996 at the Wolfe Street end of the town and the Station Hill end.
A major change to Main Street will be the arrival of the Fleur de Lis trail, linking Louisbourg with communities along the eastern shore of Cape Breton Island. This initiative of 26 million dollars was announced in 1995, and work has already begun on sections of the road.
( north from Huntington )
The most important question about this street is whether or not it exists? The 1958 Cape Breton District Telephone Directory and the July 1989 Maritime Tel & Tel directory recognize the existence of Marconi Street. But the Land Registration and Information Service map does not name the street and the computer printout says that properties in this area are on Albert Street. Alex Storm's street map of 1988 is the only other document recognizing the name.95 There is no record of when or under what circumstances the street was named.
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian scientist who made wireless communication practical. After receiving the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. John's, Newfoundland, Marconi moved to Glace Bay where he opened stations first at Table Head and then Marconi Towers. In 1913, he built a receiving station in West Louisbourg which operated until 1927. The location is now a picnic site within the boundaries of the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site.96
There has been a flurry of interest recently as a result of the road between Glace Bay and Louisbourg being officially designated the Marconi Trail. The Marconi Museum Association is directing efforts towards the development of a major museum of communications technology along the route. 97
( south from Main )
The 1926 Insurance Plan and the 1928 Might Directory name this street. There are two references to Arthur Marvin of Louisbourg found in the Land Registry Office in Sydney. In one he is listed as a Master Mariner. The other relates to the sale of property on Garden Island in West Louisbourg to the Gorton Pew fish company.97va
There is no surviving record of when this street was taken over by the Town.
( west off Upper Warren )
The name appears in the 1908 McAlpine Directory and a street is shown at this location on M. G. Henniger's 1902 plan of McAlpine Street. The origin of the name is another mystery. The fact that a number of Skinners lived on the street led it to be called Skinners' Lane in past years. But that doesn't solve the Milton question.
There are only two Miltons which may be of assistance. The 1891 census confirms that Captain Philip Townsend had an 8 year old son named Milton. Milton was also one of the Sydney & Louisburg Railway stations between Port Morien and Mira.98
Milton was one of the streets that in the 1952 Insurance Plan is extended to connect Warren and Lorway. The idea is current as late as 1969 when John Pope produced a " Plan showing lands to be expropriated by the Town of Louisbourg - extension of Milton Street to Lorway Street".
( s from Main )
Minto Street was one of those named by the town council in 1902 in honour of the Earl of Minto who was Governor General from 1898 to 1904. It was named in an attempt to mend fences.100
The Governor General arrived in Louisbourg on 25 July 1901 as part of an official visit to Cape Breton. "But", according to the Sydney Post," Not a cheer not even a hat was raised as a token of either esteem or welcome to this historic town. There were quite a number of people at the station, but Canada's first man passed through without even a murmur of applause from the spectators. It was a cool reception unique to the history of the British Empire and without parallel since the reign of the Georges."
The newly incorporated town and council, led by Mayor W. W. Lewis, had been looking forward to this first vice-regal visit. The town was decorated and a holiday declared for the event. Mayor Lewis had prepared a welcoming address and forwarded ft to the Governor-General's secretary Mr Sladen.
According to the statement given by Mayor Lewis, " . . . the vice-regal party seems to have ignored the officials of the town and requested a private citizen to show them to the ruins of the old town. When the citizens learned that he was coming as a guest of a private citizen they were indignant and numbers of them including members of the council requested me not to receive the Governor General officially."
Lewis offered to provide teams for the party, but received a telegram from Sladen thanking him but adding, "Trust you understand he hopes to see old ruins unofficially and has privately asked the Rev. Mr. Draper to meet him for that purpose."
The Council sent a return telegram expressing the disappointment of the citizens that the Governor General was to pass through unofficially, stating that "... we will not interfere with his arrangements with any private citizen and respectfully wish to withdraw reading the address and receiving officially."
( south from Main to the waterfront )
This street was renamed at some point in the 1950's for businessman Charles J. Mitchell who came to Louisbourg from Rockland, Maine in 1885.101
Mitchell was managing a fish canning business in Louisbourg in 1891 which employed 45 people.102 In 1908 he was still in business as Mitchell and Co. Lobster Packers on Minto street.103 He owned the American House, on Main street, in the area of the present town hall. American House included rental space for community use. It was purchase by D. J. Kennelly and continued as a community hall until it burned to the ground January 1902.104 Mitchell's death is recorded in the Sydney Record of April 1, 1909. He was prominent in the Masonic Lodge in Louisbourg.
Mitchell Street used to be called Alfred Street in honour of one of Queen Victoria's sons.