The middle of a much longer story

Fort Anne National Historic Site, Annapolis Royal.

10 national historic sites to visit in Nova Scotia

BY DARCY RHYNO

With almost no fanfare, Nova Scotia turned 400 in 2021. I learned of this major milestone from a small plaque at Fort Anne National Historic Site in Annapolis Royal.

A series of interpretive signs at Fort Anne explain that beneath the grassy slopes of the star-shaped, Vauban-style fort built in the early 18th century, lie the remains of an even older stronghold, Charles Fort. The plaque that caught my attention tells the story of 70 Scottish settlers who started a colony on this in 1629, eight years after King James I granted what later became Nova Scotia to Sir William Alexander. Nova Scotia’s current name, flag and coat of arms date back to this handover in 1621.

In part, the plaque reads, “Despite many deaths during the first winter, the surviving colonists thrived on agriculture, fishing, and trade with the Mi’kmaq.” This last sentence made me realize that the 1621 grant is just the middle of a much longer story. After all, no one asked the Mi’kmaq what they thought of a foreign king granting their lands to one of his courtiers. That plaque set me on a road trip to 10 national historic sites to pursue the full story of human history in Nova Scotia.

Regaining lost skills

“In the beginning, it was the root, the tree, the bark that taught my ancestors,” says Todd Labrador, an accomplished Mi’kmaw craftsman who builds birchbark canoes at Kejimkujik National Park in Caledonia. Taking part in a one-day workshop, I split boiled spruce root into thin strands used for binding the bark to the canoe frame.

Canoe building Instructor Todd Labrador with birch bark.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Although the skills to build a canoe using only materials harvested in these forests were mostly lost, Labrador is relearning them by paying attention to how the bark, roots and wood respond. “The material will teach you how, if you listen,” says Labrador.

Elsewhere in the park, Mi’kmaw interpreter Nick Whynot leads me to Canada’s second largest petroglyph collection, etched into rocks beside Kejimkujik Lake. These petroglyphs and the presence of the Mi’kmaq make Kejimkujik the only national park in Canada that’s also a national historic site. Whynot tells me there are so many petroglyphs here because this was a stopping place for his ancestors as they navigated a complex system of waterways, paddling canoes like the one Labrador is building.

“You can gather resources here,” he says. “There was fishing and hunting. There were several eel weirs. It would’ve been a major operation. Dried fish and smoked eels would have been important food stores.”

Whynot points out petroglyphs of animals and people. One of the most impressive is of two ships under sail. “That would have been something to behold when you’re paddling in a birchbark craft,” he says. “Those are stories you’re going to bring back and draw for people, seeing these massive ships with people on them.”

French and British settlers

Those ships were carrying the earliest French and British settlers. At The Habitation, the reconstruction of the original wooden fort Samuel de Champlain built at Port-Royal in 1605, an interpreter plays the first French governor. He greets visitors by asking what skill they have to contribute to Nova Scotia’s first year-round European settlement.

Within a few decades, French settlers were farming and fishing throughout Acadia, now the Maritime provinces. France began work on Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in 1719. Visiting North America’s largest historical reconstruction, I walk the cobblestone streets, greeting costumed interpreters, petting backyard farm animals and dining in a period restaurant. My fish dinner is historically accurate and delicious.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

The Habitation at Port-Royal.

Photo: Tourism Nova Scotia / Scott Munn

Some of the deported Acadians were imprisoned on Georges Island in Halifax Harbour. “For the Acadian community, Georges Island is a sacred site,” reads an interpretive sign. “It is a tangible connection to the human tragedy that played out here some 250 years ago.” Crossing a drawbridge into Fort Charlotte, I join a guided tour deep into a labyrinth of tunnels where soldiers stored munitions and defended the city.

Georges Island is part of the Halifax Defence Complex, a network of five national historic sites around the harbour, including the Prince of Wales Tower in Point Pleasant Park, York Redoubt, the remains of Fort McNab on McNabs Island and Halifax Citadel at the heart of the city. Visiting is a journey through history from the founding of Halifax in 1749 through various conflicts, including both world wars.

The Raise Your Spirits tour, Halifax Citadel.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Sergeant Andrew Crawley, Halifax Citadel.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Raising spirits

At the Citadel ends the tour of national historic sites in pursuit of Nova Scotia’s history. I sign up for the Raise Your Spirits tour hosted by Sergeant Andrew Crawley. He’s dressed as a 78th Highlander from the period 1869–71 in a kilt, red doublet, and white spats.

“Feel free to try the Noon Gun Gin,” he suggests. “It’s named after the noon gun, but also a ‘gun gin,’ which is a hoist to put artillery pieces on gun carriages, so it’s a play on words.”

A 12-pound gun fires daily at noon from Citadel Hill, a continuous tradition (excluding Christmas Day) since 1865. Noon Gun Gin is the first of four spirits by Compass Distillery that Crawley offers. All are barrel-aged within the Citadel’s walls. Crawley tells me that, during the Highlanders’ period, some 300 groggeries served booze in Halifax. Grog was rum cut evenly with water, supplied as rations aboard ship.

As Crawley talks, I imagine hundreds of sailing ships jamming the harbour. The image brings to mind Nick Whynot’s favourite petroglyphs, those two ships scratched into rocks at Kejimkujik. We raise our glasses to toast the story of Nova Scotia from its Indigenous roots to European settlement, a story told at its top 10 national historic sites.

Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal.

Photo: Tourism Nova Scotia / Scott Munn

Seasons for Nova Scotia’s Big 10 National Historic Sites

• Fort Anne. Open daily from mid-May to mid-October. Grounds open year-round.

• Port Royal. Open 9 a.m to 5 p.m., May 19 to Oct 8, 2023. Grounds open year-round.

• Kejimkujik National Park. Camping available May to October. Park is open year-round.

• Fortress Louisbourg. Open daily 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 22 to Oct 9, 2023. Winter hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays.

• Grand Pré. Open daily from mid-May to mid-October. Grounds open year-round.

• Halifax Citadel. Open year-round, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Georges Island. Open mid-June to mid-October, mostly on weekends.

• Prince of Wales Tower. Grounds and interpretative panels open year-round. The tower is closed.

• York Redoubt. Grounds open year-round. Parking open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from the end of June to Labour Day.

• Fort McNab. Open year-round. This site is on McNab’s Island, accessible by private ferry. To learn more, visit: mcnabsisland.ca/getting_here

Georges Island National Historic Site.

Photo: Tourism Nova Scotia / Acorn Art & Photgraphy