Welcome to The Roarbots’ series of Parks Canada Adventures. Similar to our NPS Adventures, this series takes a big-picture view of a single Parks Canada site and highlights some of the best activities it has to offer. This is usually done through a kid-friendly lens and almost always includes activities and suggestions we can recommend from personal experience. And pictures. There are lots and lots of pictures. Glad to have you aboard!

Welcome to Port-Royal National Historic Site!

In 1605 (two years before the founding of Jamestown in Virginia), Samuel de Champlain helped establish one of the earliest European settlements (and the first French settlement) in North America. Though the area was the traditional homeland of the Mi’kmaq people, Port-Royal NHS makes a great effort to tell the story of the friendship and cooperation that existed between the Mi’kmaq and French – and their descendants, including the Acadians.

This part of Nova Scotia was home to considerable conflict during the 17th and 18th centuries as the British and French grappled for control of the region. The story of this conflict is told between Port-Royal and Fort Anne National Historic Sites, and we wholeheartedly recommend visiting both sites. They make an easy daytrip.

You can’t go anywhere in southern Nova Scotia without hearing about the Acadians, and I’ll be honest, we knew very little of Acadian history before visiting Port-Royal. And since our visit happened to coincide with Acadiens-Métis Souriquois Day, we learned a LOT from members of the Association des Acadiens-Métis-Souriquois who were on site. I’m ashamed to admit it, but the Deportation of the Acadians during the late 18th century was a total historical blind spot for me. In speaking with association members of Acadian heritage, though, it’s clear the wounds are still raw in many respects.

Stats

• Port-Royal National Historic Site
• Location: Nova Scotia
• Established: 1923
• Admission: $3.90 (Canadian) per adult; senior, youth, and group rates available
• Social Sites: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

(Click on all pictures to embiggen.)

Fort

Known as the Habitation of Port-Royal, the fort was first built by Champlain and the French colonists in 1605 and was the capital of Acadia for almost a decade until it was attacked and destroyed by British forces in 1613. At that point, the French capital moved just a few miles away to present-day Annapolis River (also home to Fort Anne National Historic Site).

Construction of the replica fort (which stands today) was completed in 1941 and was built from the original blueprints. Therefore, the fort that currently stands looks pretty much exactly as the Habitation did in the early 1600s.

And it’s the perfect place to “play fort.” If you’re a kid (or a kid at heart), you could easily spend an entire afternoon exploring the courtyard, blacksmith’s forge, kitchen, common room, apothecary, sleeping quarters, wine cellar, gunpowder room, and cannon platforms. No one would blame you for letting your imagination get the best of you. Ours sure did.

Living History

We happened to time our visit to Port-Royal on Acadiens-Métis Souriquois Day, which celebrates the historical alliance between the French colonists and Mi’kmaq First Nations people. Descendants of this alliance have a mixed Acadian-Mi’kmaq heritage, and members of the local association set up camp just outside the fort and shared their culture with visitors.

Aside from special events such as this, though, Port-Royal regularly plays host to costumed interpreters and living history events that celebrate the local heritage and culture – notably the indigenous Mi’kmaq and the 17th century European settlers.

Red Chairs

Port-Royal isn’t a huge Parks Canada site, so it’s pretty easy to find the red chairs here. The fort itself is located alongside the Annapolis River, and the chairs are right on the riverbank. It’s one heck of a view, and it’s easy to see why Samuel de Champlain was so enchanted with the spot. He wrote, “This place was the most suitable and pleasant for a settlement that we had seen.”

Xplorers

If you have kids, Parks Canada’s Xplorers program (their equivalent of the National Park Service’s Junior Ranger program) should not be missed. Most sites in the system offer an Xplorers booklet, which encourages kids to ask questions, discover hidden corners of the park, keep their eyes open, and be active visitors. It’s a must-do feature of every Parks Canada visit, and the kids delighted in earning their dog tags at each location.

The living history at Port-Royal is an unofficial “add-on” to the Xplorers booklet, and you’d be foolish not to make time for it. Kids can interact with period interpreters and artisans to learn more about the fort, life in the 17th century, and the local Mi’kmaq and Acadian cultures.