Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic: Difference between revisions

Fort Meductic
Fort Meductic
near the confluence of the Eel River and Saint John River, in New Brunswick,
	Meductic Church Cornerstone (1717). Oldest Christian religious artifact in New Brunswick. Discovered 1890.
Site information
Controlled by	Maliseet
Site history
Built	before the 17th century, first fort in Acadia
Battles/wars	Battle of Fort Loyal
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site
Designated	1924

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Fort Meductic, Saint John River, New Brunswick

Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic (also known as Medoctec, Mehtawtik meaning "the end of the path") was a Maliseet settlement until the mid-eighteenth century. It was located near the confluence of the Eel River and Saint John River in New Brunswick, four miles upriver from present-day Lakeland Ridges.^[2] The fortified village of Meductic was the principal settlement of the Maliseet First Nation from before the 17th century until the middle of the 18th, and it was an important fur trading centre. (The other two significant native villages in the region were the Abenaki village of Norridgewock (present-day Madison, Maine) on the Kennebec River and Penobscot (present-day Penobscot Indian Island Reservation) on the Penobscot River. Only during King George's War, after the French established Saint Anne (present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick), did the village Aukpaque, present-day Springhill, New Brunswick, become of equal importance to Meductic).^[3]

The village contained Fort Meductic, which the Maliseet had built before the arrival of the French to defend against Mohawk attacks.^[4] The Mohawk were one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, based in present-day New York, south of the St. Lawrence River and generally west of the Hudson River. This is reported to have been the first Fort in Acadia.^[5]

Father Joseph Aubery re-established the mission in 1701. During the lead up to Father Rale's War, to secure the French influence on the village, Priest Jean-Baptiste Loyard built the chapel Saint Jean Baptiste (1717).^[6] (The bell was given by King Louis XV.) ^[7] Similarly, the French claimed territory on the Kennebec River by building a church in the Abenaki village of Norridgewock.^[8]^[9]

The Meductic village and fort location is a National Historic Site. A federal plaque from the Historic Sites and Monuments Board was placed on a cairn on Fort Meductic Road, near the site. [As of April 2020, the plaque was missing from the cairn.] Official recognition refers to the polygon around the archaeological remains.^[10]

Related to the site, the Meductic-Eel River Portage was designated a National Historic Event in 1943. It was part of the route between Acadia and New England, and used by France on expeditions against the English.^[11]

Footnotes[edit]

^ Latin inscription: "To God, most excellent, most high, in honor of Saint John Baptist, the Maliseet erected this church A. D. 1717, while Jean Loyard, a priest of the Society of Jesus, was procurator of the mission." (See Raymond, P.9)
^ The village, dating from before the 17th century, was situated on a plateau west of the Saint John River. In 1968 the government acquired the Meductic site for the Mactaquac Dam, which flooded much of the Saint John River valley, including Meductic.
^ Raymond, p. 3, p. 11, p. 16
^ Raymond, p. 7
^ Raymond, p. 11; Bishop Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier visited the area on the way to Port Royal. He wrote: "Megogtek is the first fort in Acadia".
^ Binasco, Matteo. The Role and Activities of the Capuchin, Jesuit and Recollet Missionaries in Acadia/Nova Scotia from 1654 to 1755. Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS. 2004. Note: Father Loyard was born at Pau in 1678 (dept. of Pyrénées-Atlantique). He was ordained a Jesuit priest (Societe of Jesus) and served in Acadia from 1709 until his death in 1731.
^ Raymond, p. 13
^ "Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
^ John Grenier, The Far Reaches of Empire. University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 51, p. 54.
^ Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
^ Meductic-Eel River Portage National Historic Event, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Parks Canada

References[edit]

Secondary Sources:

W.O. Raymond. The Old Meductic Fort and the Indian Chapel of Saint Jean Baptiste: paper read before the New Brunswick Historical Society (1897)
William O. Raymond (1905). Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John. Saint John, NB: unspecified. OCLC 422037263.
John Grenier. (2008). The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia 1710-1760. University of Oklahoma Press.
Francis Parkman, The Jesuits in North America, Gutenberg Project
Pouliot, Léon (1979) [1969]. "Loyard, Jean-Baptiste". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
Matteo Binasco. "Few, Uncooperative, and Endangered: The Troubled Activity of the Roman Catholic Missionaries in Acadia (1610-1710)", in Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, Journal, vol.10 (2007), pp. 147–162.

External Links

Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places.
Pote, William (1896). The Journal of Captain William Pote, Jr., during his Captivity in the French and Indian War from May, 1745, to August, 1747. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company.

46°01′35″N 67°32′14″W / 46.026332°N 67.537323°W / 46.026332; -67.537323

[1] Latin inscription: "To God, most excellent, most high, in honor of Saint John Baptist, the Maliseet erected this church A. D. 1717, while Jean Loyard, a priest of the Society of Jesus, was procurator of the mission." (See Raymond, P.9)

[2] The village, dating from before the 17th century, was situated on a plateau west of the Saint John River. In 1968 the government acquired the Meductic site for the Mactaquac Dam, which flooded much of the Saint John River valley, including Meductic.

[3] Raymond, p. 3, p. 11, p. 16

[4] Raymond, p. 7

[5] Raymond, p. 11; Bishop Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier visited the area on the way to Port Royal. He wrote: "Megogtek is the first fort in Acadia".

[6] Binasco, Matteo. The Role and Activities of the Capuchin, Jesuit and Recollet Missionaries in Acadia/Nova Scotia from 1654 to 1755. Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS. 2004. Note: Father Loyard was born at Pau in 1678 (dept. of Pyrénées-Atlantique). He was ordained a Jesuit priest (Societe of Jesus) and served in Acadia from 1709 until his death in 1731.

[7] Raymond, p. 13

[Parks_Canada-8] "Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2011.

[John_Grenier_2008,_p._51-9] John Grenier, The Far Reaches of Empire. University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 51, p. 54.

[10] Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 22 February 2012.

[11] Meductic-Eel River Portage National Historic Event, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Parks Canada

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Ancient Maliseet settlement}}
-{{Infobox Military Structure
+{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
+{{Infobox military installation
 |name= Fort Meductic
 |location=near the confluence of the [[Eel River (Bay of Fundy)|Eel River]] and [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]], in [[New Brunswick]],
@@ Line 12: / Line 14: @@
 |commanders=
 |battles=[[Battle of Fort Loyal]]
-{{Designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NHSC |designation1_offname=Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada |designation1_date=1924 }}
+{{Designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NHSC |designation1_offname=Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site
+|designation1_date=1924 }}
 }}
 [[File:FortMeductic.png|thumb|Fort Meductic, Saint John River, New Brunswick]]
-'''Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic''' (also known as Medoctec, Mehtawtik meaning "the end of the path") was a [[Maliseet]] settlement until the mid-eighteenth century. It was located near the confluence of the Eel River and [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]] in [[New Brunswick]], four miles upriver from present-day [[Meductic, New Brunswick]].<ref>The village, dating from before the 17th century, was situated on a plateau west of the Saint John River. In 1968 the government acquired the Meductic site for the [[Mactaquac Dam]], which flooded  much of the Saint John River valley, including Meductic.</ref>  The fortified village of Meductic was the principal settlement of the [[Maliseet]] First Nation from before the 17th century until the middle of the 18th, and it was an important [[fur trading]] centre.  (The other two significant native villages in the region were the Abenaki village of [[Norridgewock]] (present-day [[Madison, Maine]]) on the [[Kennebec River]] and Penobscot (present-day [[Penobscot Indian Island Reservation]]) on the Penobscot River. Only during [[King George's War]], after the French established Saint Anne (present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick), did the village [[Aukpaque]], present-day [[Springhill, New Brunswick]], become of equal importance to Meductic).<ref>Raymond, p. 3, p. 11, p. 16</ref>
+'''Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic''' (also known as Medoctec, Mehtawtik meaning "the end of the path") was a [[Maliseet]] settlement until the mid-eighteenth century. It was located near the confluence of the Eel River and [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]] in [[New Brunswick]], four miles upriver from present-day [[Lakeland Ridges]].<ref>The village, dating from before the 17th century, was situated on a plateau west of the Saint John River. In 1968 the government acquired the Meductic site for the [[Mactaquac Dam]], which flooded  much of the Saint John River valley, including Meductic.</ref>  The fortified village of Meductic was the principal settlement of the [[Maliseet]] First Nation from before the 17th century until the middle of the 18th, and it was an important [[fur trading]] centre.  (The other two significant native villages in the region were the Abenaki village of [[Norridgewock]] (present-day [[Madison, Maine]]) on the [[Kennebec River]] and Penobscot (present-day [[Penobscot Indian Island Reservation]]) on the Penobscot River. Only during [[King George's War]], after the French established Saint Anne (present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick), did the village [[Aukpaque]], present-day [[Springhill, New Brunswick]], become of equal importance to Meductic).<ref>Raymond, p. 3, p. 11, p. 16</ref>
-The village contained Fort Meductic, which the Maliseet had built before the arrival of the French to defend against [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] attacks.<ref>Raymond, p. 7</ref> The Mohawk were one of the [[Iroquois|Five Nations]] of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], based in present-day New York, south of the St. Lawrence River and generally west of the Hudson River. This is reported to have been the first Fort in Acadia.<ref>Raymond, p. 11; Bishop [[Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier]] visited the area on the way to [[Port Royal, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia|Port Royal, Nova Scotia]]. He wrote: "Megogtek is the first fort in [[Acadia]]".</ref>
+The village contained Fort Meductic, which the Maliseet had built before the arrival of the French to defend against [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] attacks.<ref>Raymond, p. 7</ref> The Mohawk were one of the [[Iroquois|Five Nations]] of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], based in present-day New York, south of the St. Lawrence River and generally west of the Hudson River. This is reported to have been the first Fort in Acadia.<ref>Raymond, p. 11; Bishop [[Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier]] visited the area on the way to [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port Royal]]. He wrote: "Megogtek is the first fort in [[Acadia]]".</ref>
-Father [[Joseph Aubery]] re-established the mission in 1701. During the lead up to [[Father Rale's War]], to secure the French influence on the village, Priest [[Jean-Baptiste Loyard]] built the chapel Saint Jean Baptiste (1717).<ref>Binasco, Matteo. ''The Role and Activities of the Capuchin, Jesuit and Recollet Missionaries in Acadia/Nova Scotia from 1654 to 1755.'' Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS. 2004. Note: Father Loyard was born at [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] in 1678 (dept. of [[Pyrénées-Atlantique]]).  He was ordained a Jesuit priest (Societe of Jesus) and served in Acadia from 1709 until his death in 1731.</ref> (The bell was given by King Louis XV.) <ref>Raymond, p. 13</ref> Similarly, the French claimed territory on the Kennebec River by building a church in the Abenaki village of [[Norridgewock]].<ref name="Parks Canada">{{cite web|url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=14831 |title=Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada |publisher=Parks Canada |accessdate=December 20, 2011 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627115249/http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=14831 |archivedate=June 27, 2012 |df= }}</ref><ref name="John Grenier 2008, p. 51">John Grenier, ''The Far Reaches of Empire''. University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 51, p. 54.</ref>
+Father [[Joseph Aubery]] re-established the mission in 1701. During the lead up to [[Father Rale's War]], to secure the French influence on the village, Priest [[Jean-Baptiste Loyard]] built the chapel Saint Jean Baptiste (1717).<ref>Binasco, Matteo. ''The Role and Activities of the Capuchin, Jesuit and Recollet Missionaries in Acadia/Nova Scotia from 1654 to 1755.'' Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS. 2004. Note: Father Loyard was born at [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] in 1678 (dept. of [[Pyrénées-Atlantique]]).  He was ordained a Jesuit priest (Societe of Jesus) and served in Acadia from 1709 until his death in 1731.</ref> (The bell was given by King Louis XV.) <ref>Raymond, p. 13</ref> Similarly, the French claimed territory on the Kennebec River by building a church in the Abenaki village of [[Norridgewock]].<ref name="Parks Canada">{{cite web|url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=14831 |title=Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada |publisher=Parks Canada |accessdate=December 20, 2011 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627115249/http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=14831 |archivedate=June 27, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="John Grenier 2008, p. 51">John Grenier, ''The Far Reaches of Empire''. University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 51, p. 54.</ref>
-Meductic is a [[National Historic Site of Canada]]. A Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque and cairn marking the site is located nearby on Fort Meductic Road. Official recognition refers to the polygon around the archaeological remains.<ref>{{CRHP|14831|Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic|22 February 2012}}</ref>
+The Meductic village and fort location is a [[National Historic Site of Canada|National Historic Site]]. A federal plaque from the Historic Sites and Monuments Board was placed on a cairn on Fort Meductic Road, near the site. [As of April 2020, the plaque was missing from the cairn.] Official recognition refers to the polygon around the archaeological remains.<ref>{{CRHP|14831|Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic|22 February 2012}}</ref>
+Related to the site, the Meductic-Eel River Portage was designated a National Historic Event in 1943. It was part of the route between Acadia and New England, and used by France on expeditions against the English.<ref>[https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=12054 Meductic-Eel River Portage National Historic Event], Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Parks Canada</ref>
 == See also ==
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
 '''Secondary Sources:'''
 * [https://archive.org/details/cihm_12322  W.O. Raymond. ''The Old Meductic Fort and the Indian Chapel of Saint Jean Baptiste:'' paper read before the New Brunswick Historical Society (1897)]
-* {{cite book|last=Raymond|first=William O|title=Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John|url=https://archive.org/details/glimpsesofpasth00raymuoft|location=Saint John, NB|publisher=unspecified|year=1905|oclc=422037263}}
+* {{cite book|author=[[William O. Raymond]]|title=Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John|url=https://archive.org/details/glimpsesofpasth00raymuoft|location=Saint John, NB|publisher=unspecified|year=1905|oclc=422037263}}
 *John Grenier. (2008). ''The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia 1710-1760''. University of Oklahoma Press.
 *[http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6933/pg6933.txt Francis Parkman, ''The Jesuits in North America''], Gutenberg Project
-* {{cite DCB |title=Loyard, Jean-Baptiste |first=Léon |last=Pouliot |voleume=2 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/loyard_jean_baptiste_2E.html}}
+* {{cite DCB |title=Loyard, Jean-Baptiste |first=Léon |last=Pouliot |volume=2 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/loyard_jean_baptiste_2E.html}}
 * Matteo Binasco. "Few, Uncooperative, and Endangered: The Troubled Activity of the Roman Catholic Missionaries in Acadia (1610-1710)", in ''Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, Journal,'' vol.10 (2007), pp.&nbsp;147–162.
 External Links
-* {{CRHP|14831Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada}}
+* {{CRHP|14831|Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada}}
 * {{cite book|last=Pote|first=William|author-link=William Pote|title=The Journal of Captain William Pote, Jr., during his Captivity in the French and Indian War from May, 1745, to August, 1747|publisher=Dodd, Mead & Company|location=New York|date=1896|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofcaptain00pote}}
@@ Line 46: / Line 51: @@
 {{Commons}}
-{{coord|45|59|53|N|67|29|40|W|type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki|display=title}}
+{{coord|46.026332|N|67.537323|W|type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki|display=title}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Meductic Indian Village Fort Meductic}}
@@ Line 57: / Line 62: @@
 [[Category:Tourist attractions in York County, New Brunswick]]
 [[Category:Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register]]
+[[Category:Wolastoqiyik]]

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Latest revision as of 19:25, 15 April 2024

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

References[edit]