78
 

The remains of the old fort are visible till this day not far from the edge of red banks of what is now known as Blockhouse Point. On high ground, the fort commanded a clear view of the entrance of Tatamagouche River into the Harbour. To the West it had an equally as good view of the head of the Harbour itself - while to the North toward Charlottetown, one could from its ramparts, see beyond Cape John and Malagash Point into the Strait itself.

The blockhouse was built according to the conventional design of the day and was guarded in the rear by a redoubt. The remains of the moats, the ditches and the old wells* are still visible as are also the outlines of the ramparts themselves.

     DesBarres planned and supervised its building. He was there in 1768 directing the use of Acadian labour. There is also in the Provincial Archives a letter in French from him at Tatamagouche in May of the same year, in which he writes that he is busy directing the work of the blockhouse. And we may be sure that it would be built according to the approved military standards of the time. In honour of the Lieutenant-Governor, it was called Fort Francklin.

*Francklin wrote to Ensign Ness on Sept. 9^th , 1768, warning him of the danger to the men in digging the wells deeper. Already the drippings from the upper spring had given four feet of water, and Francklin recommended that the spring be walled with stone. He also directed that the road to the Fort be above the tidal waters.

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