Victoria_Park_Re port Final.pdf - City of Charlottetown

1.0 INTRODUCTION
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In!February!2013,!Davis!MacIntyre!&!Associates!Limited!(DM&A)!was!contracted!by!
Ekistics Planning and Design to!conduct!an!archaeological!impact!assessment!of!
Victoria!Park,!Charlottetown,!to!be!included!in!the!Victoria!Park!Comprehensive!
Plan.!The!purpose!of!this!assessment!was!to!determine!the!potential!for!
archaeological!resources!within!the!study!area!and!to!provide!recommendations!for!
further!mitigation!if!deemed!necessary.!This!assessment!included!consultation!of!
historic!maps,!manuscripts,!published!resources!and!aerial!photographs!as!well!as!
the!Maritime!Archaeological!Resource!Inventory.!!
2.0 STUDY AREA
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Victoria!Park!is!located!in!the!City!of!Charlottetown,!adjacent!to!the!harbour!front!
and!downtown!core.!It!is!accessed!by!Brighton!Street,!Park!Driveway,!Park!
Roadway,!Kent!Street!and!Terry!Fox!Drive.!The!Park!is!approximately!40!acres!in!
size.!!!
3.0 METHODOLOGY
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A!historic!background!study!was!conducted!by!Davis!MacIntyre!&!Associates!
Limited!in!February!and!March!2013.!!Historical!maps!and!manuscripts!and!
published!literature!were!consulted.!The!Maritime!Archaeological!Resource!
Inventory,!held!online!by!the!Canadian!Museum!of!Civilization,!was!searched!to!
understand!prior!archaeological!research!and!known!archaeological!resources!
neighbouring!the!study!area.!Aerial!photographs!were!examined!and!overlaps!of!
historical!mapping!on!modern!data!was!created!using!GIS.!A!retired!Parks!Canada!
archaeologist!familiar!with!Prince!Edward!Island!archaeology!and!the!Director!of!
Aboriginal!Affairs!and!Archaeology!were!consulted.!
4.0 CULTURAL BACKGROUND
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4.1 Maritime Archaeological Resource Inventory
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There!are!no!registered!archaeological!sites!within!the!study!area!listed!in!the!
Maritime!Archaeological!Resource!Inventory. 1 !However,!the!absence!of!recorded!
archaeological!resources!within!or!immediately!adjacent!to!the!study!area!is!likely!
an!indication!that!this!area!was!not!subjected!to!previous!archaeological!
assessments.!
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1!H.!Kristmanson,!personal!communication!(email),!18!March!2013.!
Davis MacIntyre & Associates Limited
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Victoria Park
4.2 Historical Background
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Prince!Edward!Island!was!first!settled!by!the!ancestors!of!the!Mi'kmaq!and!was!
called!Epāgwĭt(meaning!“lying!on!the!water”. 2 !European!contact!with!the!Island!may!
have!occurred!in!the!twelfth!and!thirteenth!centuries!with!possible!visits!by!Norse!
explorers.!However,!Giovanni!Caboto!(“John!Cabot”)!left!the!first!clearly!
documented!visit!and!named!the!island!Saint!John,!although!no!claim!was!made!by!
the!English!as!that!time.!Subsequently,!the!French!laid!claim!to!it!in!1534,!after!the!
voyages!of!Jacques!Cartier.!!
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The!first!known!map!of!the!island!was!drawn!by!Samuel!de!Champlain!in!1632.!
Champlain!never!visited!the!island!himself!and!his!information!was!therefore!likely!
derived!from!fishermen!who!frequented!the!Gulf!of!St.!Lawrence!and!its!
surrounding!coasts!in!the!sixteenth!century. 3 !The!next!known!description!of!the!
island!was!by!Nicolas!Denys!in!his!“Description!and!Natural!History!of!Acadia”!
published!in!1672.!Denys!came!to!Acadia!in!1632!with!the!new!governor!Isaac!de!
Razilly.!Denys!was!given!control!of!eastern!Acadian!from!Cap!de!Canseau!(Canso,!
Nova!Scotia)!to!Cap!de!Rosiers!on!the!Gaspé!Peninsula,!with!the!inclusion!of!the!
islands!in!the!Gulf!of!St.!Lawrence!(most!notably!Cape!Breton,!Prince!Edward!Island!
and!the!Magdalen!Islands).!However,!Denys!did!not!meet!the!requirements!of!his!
grant!to!settle!and!improve!upon!the!land!and!in!1663,!the!grant!was!revoked!and!
reassigned!to!Sieur!Françoise!Doublet,!captain!in!the!French!navy,!who!established!a!
few!scattered!fishing!settlements!on!the!island!but!he,!himself,!did!not!reside!there!
and!any!attempts!at!permanent!settlement!did!not!come!until!much!later. 4 !
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By!the!1713!Treaty!of!Utrecht,!Acadia!(mainland!Nova!Scotia,!New!Brunswick!and!
part!of!Maine)!as!well!as!Newfoundland!was!ceded!to!the!British.!As!a!consequence,!
many!Acadians!removed!to!Saint!John!(present.day!Prince!Edward!Island)!which!
remained!under!French!rule. 5 !In!1719,!the!island!was!granted!to!Compte!de!Saint!
Pierre.!The!first!buildings!were!erected!at!Port!la!Joye!(now!Charlottetown)!which!
was!named!the!capital!of!the!colony,!although!the!commercial!capital!would!be!
situated!at!Havre!Saint!Pierre. 6 !By!1728,!the!census!of!Port!la!Joye!lists!22!houses!
with!105!people.!!Two!years!later,!the!population!was!only!marginally!larger,!at!114!
people!in!Port!la!Joye. 7 !
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In!1730,!the!grant!to!Comte!de!Saint!Pierre!was!revoked!and!the!island!returned!to!
the!King!of!France.!This!led!to!larger!numbers!of!French!and!Acadian!settlers!
arriving!on!the!island.!Saint!Pierre!remained!the!most!densely!settled!European!area!
of!the!island!and!roads!were!built!between!Three!Rivers!and!Port!la!Joye!on!the!
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2!Rand!1875:96.!!
3!Harvey,!1926:7.!
4!Campbell,!1875:1.2;!Harvey,!1926:3,!16.17.!
5!Campbell,!1875:2.!
6!Harvey,!1926:30.34.!!
7!Island!Register!Website,!French!census!1728!and!1730!
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Victoria Park