Old, French settlers not forgotten

Premier, MP, throw support behind effort to remember
Early French miners in the county

By Lana MacEachern
The Evening News

            A Bridgeville man’s desire to permanently honor the memory of a group of French settlers in Pictou County has garnered the support of the premier and a local member of parliament.

            John Ashton would like to see a permanent monument erected in the Trafalgar-Lorne area where a group of French mining families once lived.  The miners, with such surnames as Bonnet, Oudin and Hommé, emigrated here from France in the 1870’s and lived briefly in Pictou County before moving to the United States.

            Ashton discovered the former settlement, referred to as Raymond-ville, a few years ago after spotting the names of several French landowners in the midst of the predominantly Scottish settlement in an old county atlas.

            Nova Scotia will host the third Congres Mondial Acadian (World Acadian Congress) in 2004, and that would be the perfect time to unveil such a monument, he says.

            Permier John Hamm, who toured the site with Ashton, Pictou-Anitgonish-Guysborough MP Peter MacKay and Pictou East MLA Jim DeWolfe said he was impressed and intrigued by it.  A history buff, Hamm said Ashton deserves a lot of credit of pin-pointing visible remains of the settlement in the midst of what is now Crown-owned logging land.

            “For him to find all that was a huge job,” He said.

            “John should receive a lot of credit for all the work he had done to reawaken all the memories of Raymondville.”

            “This is part of the history of a county that is extremely conscious of its roots,” said Hamm, “and it would be fitting to do something in connection with the Acadian Congress.  A permanent marker is a good idea because the forces of nature will eventually erase the visible traces of the settlement,” he said.

            Hamm said the appropriate next step would be to submit a proposal to the government to see how the province can participate in the project.

            MacKay also supports the idea of a monument to Raymond-ville.  He said he thinks it’s a great opportunity to expose people to this unique, and possibly not well known aspect of Pictou County Culture.

            “I think there should be some marker, some monument to recognize them, he said.

            “I am very hopeful that we can make that happen.”

            He said initial inquiries have been made to Heritage Canada to see if this is something the federal government might be willing to help fund.

            Ashton said it would be nice if Pictou County can put something together to make it another venue for congress participants to consider during the two-week-long event.  But in order to get off the ground, the project requires the formation of a committee of interested individuals who can come up with a plan and set the ball in motion, he said.

            The Acadian Congress will take place July 31 to Aug. 15, 2004 with the opening ceremony to be held in Clare.  Dozens of Acadian family reunions are already scheduled to take place across the province.  A closing ceremony and mass are set for Aug. 15 in Grand-Pré, as well as a “big show” in Halifax on the same date.

            More information about the Acadian Congress 2004 can be found on the Web site: www.cma2004.com