During the
French and Indian War in the late 1750s, British authorities in
Nova Scotia, which then included all of present-day
New Brunswick, decided to forcibly relocate the local
Acadian population to other parts of the
British Empire. This action had far-reaching consequences, but not all Acadians were deported, and a significant number that survived the relocation process returned to what is now New Brunswick. Following the
American Revolutionary War,
United Empire Loyalists who had fled the
Thirteen Colonies were resettled in New Brunswick, and given land grants that sometimes included land occupied by Acadians. In many instances, these occupants were driven from the land, and were again forced to move. In 1785, a group of twenty Acadian families led by Joseph Daigle worked their way up the
Saint John River from
Fredericton. According to local tradition, they ended their journey at this site, and erected a wooden cross to mark the occasion. This group formed the nucleus of settlements on both sides of the river, part of which is on the
Canada–United States border, dividing the larger community. The border in this area was set by the 1842
Webster-Ashburton Treaty, after a period of border tension known as the
Aroostook War. The site is also part of the
Maine Acadian Culture program of the
National Park Service. ==See also==