Nova Scotia 2007 (Page 3)

Maritime Provinces 2007 - Nova Scotia, Canada (Page 3)

Updated: 11/30/08

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada

The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historical Site of Canada

The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada is located in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Admission is $7.25 per person. It is not a large museum but it is jammed with artifacts. All displays are indoors so it is a good rainy day attraction. The landscaped grounds offer a view of Baddeck Bay on the Bras d'Or Lakes.

The main building's architectural style is based on the tetrahedron,
the geometric form Bell used in designing his passenger-carrying kites.

Entering the museum you are greeted by a wall detailing periods in Bell's life.

Alexander Graham Bell is associated in most people's minds with the invention of the telephone. However, his mind and inventions were always seeking a wide range of areas. Displays cover aeronautics, agriculture, generics, marine engineering, medical science and his work with the hearing impaired.

Displays of many of his inventions were presented.

A large display showed the history of attempts to develop the hydrodrome. After a lot of time and money was expended to prefect the hydrodrome, the project failed - not so much due to design but by the time it was ready, the need had past. This cartoon tells the story.

This hull of the stripped down HD-4 was found intact on the beach at Beinn Bhreagh.

He only sat in it, never rode in it.

This full size model of the HD-4 is huge.

Bell thought children should lean by doing. In the Discovery Area, families can relax and play with puzzles, experiments, kit-making, and more.

Plan to spend a couple hours for a good overview of Bell's history. To really study his accomplishments would require more time. There is a gift shop, tea room and picnic area.

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The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historical Site of Canada

The fortress is a don't miss attraction. About one-quarter of colonial Louisburgh has been reconstructed to its 1744 appearance, resulting in one of Canada's largest national historic sites. Because no modern city was ever build on this site, it is a large archaeological time capsule.

Postcard (Photo by Warren Gordon,
Images of Cape Breton)

After watching an audiovisual presentation, you are taken by bus from the visitor center to the fortress. In the grass roofed buildings, you are given information about the way of life in that era.

Cooking, fishing and the drying racks are explained.

Out the rear door and you are on the road to the fortress. In a short distance you are challenged by a fierce looking guard before being permitted to cross the draw bridge over a mote. (A scale model of the fortress was displayed in the museum building.)

Maybe the guards are mean because
they have to rest on these miserable bunks
during their duty day.

The wall on your right is the location of the canon battery - go through a tunnel to get inside the wall.

To your left is the harbor for the fortress. The gold colored Frederic Gate can not be missed.

At its peak, it was a busy port.

Each summer the Fortress shows how the town's residents would lived in 1744. There are over 25 buildings open to the public. The fortress is filled with costumed interpreters who reenact the leisurely activities of the rich and the hard physical labour of the poor.

The stone craftsmanship was very attractive.

Fred found the unique looking barrel
in one of the supply stores.

One building distinction . . . the privately owned buildings had cedar shake roofs, the government buildings had slate roofs.

The King's Bastion was huge. It housed the Chapel, Governor's and Officers' Quarters, Barracks, Archaeology and Reconstruction Exhibits.

A guard on the rear wall . . .

We did not spend much time inside the King's Bastion. The housing for the solders was much less ornate than the governor's residence. The chapel was on this building. Drummers played in the court yard.

As you walk down Quai Quay, the main street, you are aware of something hanging out of the window of one of the buildings. As you get closer, you realize it is a mattress. It seems the high level of illiteracy in the fortress required that symbols be used instead of words on signs. The mattress hanging out of the window indicated a rooming house.

The pine branches indicated a place to eat.

Each of these houses was owned by a captain in the military. The one on the left was not near as large nor as elaborate as the one on the right.

However, the captain in the larger house found he could not afford to heat his house during the winters. It was not as comfortable as the other captain's smaller house.

In modern days, the water well has become a wishing well. Do you wonder what this boy is wishing for?

A half hour walking tour of the fortress was offered. It was worth our time for the history and stories told. One story was about the goods received from France. Residents were required to purchase everything from France. If a child's sock wore out his parents purchase one. Sometimes it did not match the other one - a was common occurrence.

A public flogging drew a lot of attention. She was marched from the King's Bastion to the Carcan (public punishment area) on the main street. All the 'townspeople' followed to witness the punishment.

After the flogging, we had lunch in one of the taverns. Each tavern had a unique menu. We chose the one with the fish entrée. All we will say about the lunch is that the fish was good. Politeness dictates we should not comment about the dense bread, flavorless vegetables and watery unsalted soup.

Of course, we paid for the ambiance, not the food.

The Canadian government established the reconstructed fortress in 1961. It has a two-fold purpose - understand the role of the Fortress in history and animate the lessons of history.

The entire site has not been reconstructed. A walking path to the ruins would add an hour to your visit.

In the distance we could see the City of Louisbourg and Lighthouse Point.

We enjoyed our time at the fortress. Be sure bring a sweater or jacket and wear very comfortable shoes. If you are there on a rainy day or the day after a it rained, it will be muddy. Plan to spend at least half a day, a full day would be better. Admission June-Sept $13.50, over 65, $11.50 per person. The grounds are open year-round.

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After our visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg, we were off to find the Loiusbourg Lighthouse we saw in the distance. The ride toward the lighthouse was delightful.

A view of the fortress . . .

The city pier and harbor were active places.

We have been accustomed to seeing the rectangular lobster traps.
This was our first time to see round lobster traps.

Continuing along the road . . .

. . . the city in background

A nice looking boat . . . and a nice view

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Eventually, we could see the lighthouse through the trees. The shoreline at this viewing location was very attractive.

But, the best was yet to come.

Lighthouse Point offered a lovely view of the shoreline, the distant fortress and the narrow entrance to Louisbourg Harbor. The lighthouse area is open to the public free of charge. Beside the current lighthouse is the ruins of Canada's first lighthouse completed in 1734.

The lighthouse was replaced by a modern electronic version.

To make some of the photographs, Fred stood close to the modern version.
He reported that is was L O U D .

While the new version may be as efficient, there is no question that the old version is more picturesque.

Walking along the edge of the point presented many fantastic views of the shoreline.

Like watching fish in an aquarium, the view is always changing. You can stand in one spot and watch the different patterns the rushing water makes against the rocks.