Île-aux-Marins

Île-aux-Marins was settled in 1604 and once had a population approaching 700. It was a commune until 1945, when it was annexed by the commune of Saint-Pierre. Since the 1960s, the town has become a ghost town after the last of the population left for Saint Pierre Island; however, a small number of people live there on a seasonal basis between May and November. Several of the town's buildings are still standing, among them are the church (Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Marins), the Jézéquel house, a number of fisherman's homes, and the Archipélitude Museum located in the town's former school. Several of the buildings were designated with protected status by the French Ministry of Culture in 2011, with the addition of the Jézéquel house in 2014. The bow section of the wrecked ship Transpacific, which grounded near the islands in 1971, is located on the northern side of the island and is still accessible. ==Geography==

The island is long with its width varying from . The highest point, Cape Beaudry, is only above mean sea level and is also located on the northern end of the island. Two smaller islands, Île aux Vainqueurs and Île aux Pigeons, are located to the northeast of the island. ==Island life==

Cod fishing Residents would fish for cod every year from April to October. In winter, cod left the archipelago and migrated to the Grand Banks. Dories and Wherries Dories were lighter than wherries. They were built with the clinker method, with oars or sails, until the First World War. Then, builders added engines and then propellers. The original shape of the boat remains the same. There is a crew of 2 people, the skipper and the seaman (often a son so that he could learn the skills). A dory was a fisherman's most precious possession. Cafés Several cafés animated the prosperous island in the 1900s: • Café de la France (see below) • Café de la Liberté, run by Mr and Mrs Couétil, next to the soccer field • Café Delanoé, located before the cannons, property of Bertrand Delanoe's (former mayor of Paris) ancestors • Café Marie-Ange stood just above Trehouard Cove ==Buildings and other landmarks==

Archipelitude museum (former school) The island's first school was a humble private institution which was run by a certain Miss Quémart in 1863. Young islanders ages 6 through 12 attended. Later on, a Miss Chevalier took charge of the young girls' education and from 1874 to 1903, while the Brothers Ploërmel taught the young boys. In 1892, three boys passed the primary school certificate, the only one delivered each year until the creation of the elementary certificate in 1903. In 1903, school becomes secular and mixed and the Brothers have to leave. With the decline of fishing and the migration to Saint-Pierre, the school gradually lost its pupils until 1963 when Bernard Borotra, the last primary school teacher, decided to close it for good. The school building is owned by the city of Saint-Pierre, and was restored in the 1980s and in 1988 used to house the Archipelitude Museum, the island's heritage museum. Café de la France (foundation) One of the most important cabarets of the island was the Café de la France, also called the Café Nouvel, of which the foundations remain. The parents of Joseph Nouvel, a photographer, and Alexis Nouvel, the last inhabitant of the island, owned the café, which was the hub of social life for both the island residents and French fishermen during their stopovers. It hosted lively evening dances. On the ground floor, rooms were used for commerce, the dining room, the dancing hall, the cafe, the kitchen, the private living room and the boudoir. The first floor was for bedrooms only. With fishing in decline, the owners left the island in the 1920s and sold their property, which continued to thrive through the 1940s. The café building was disassembled and reconstructed on Saint Pierre, and is the George Jackman House today. The Grey House displays a dory, which fishermen used until the 1910s, along with waries. In 1911, some more prosperous fishermen started to equip their dories with engines until in 1913, a government grant allowed all fishermen to do so, which led to a tripling of the fish catch overall. Every year by the end of November, fishermen repaired all the dories and riggings the activity in the fishing shed stopped. Notre-Dame-des-Marins File:Church on L'île aux Marins 01.jpg File:Church on L'île aux Marins 02.jpg File:Church on L'île aux Marins.jpg Notre-Dame-des-Marins(fr) is the island's church, built 1872, has maintained its original furnishings, including a large black-wrapped catafalque, used for carrying coffins. Transpacific shipwreck The Transpacific was a German cargo ship that wrecked on the island's reefs on May 18th, 1971. There were no deaths or injuries. It had departed from Montreal towards northern Europe to transport aluminum and various types of equipment. Aware that there were technical problems, the captain contacted the Saint-Pierre marine station to stop outside the port and allow technicians to board. However, a storm took the ship right over the island's reefs. Once the cargo was abandoned, numerous dories surrounded the ship to retrieve the cargo including lawnmowers, preserves (jam/jelly), and jukeboxes. Objects from the ship are on display at the Archipélitude museum on the island. ==Gallery==

File:Houses on L'île aux Marins 20.jpg | Houses File:House on L'île aux Marins 23.jpg | House File:Houses on L'île aux Marins 19.jpg | Houses File:View to the north towards ferry terminal on Île aux Marins.jpg | View from south to ferry terminal File:House on L'île aux Marins 17.jpg | House File:House on L'île aux Marins 16.jpg | House File:Houses on L'île aux Marins.jpg | Houses File:House on L'île aux Marins 15.jpg | House File:Cannons at fort on L'île aux Marins.jpg | Cannons at fort File:Tambour on house on L'île aux Marins 02.jpg | Tambour File:Tambour on house on L'île aux Marins 01.jpg | Tambour File:Fire wagon on L'île aux Marins.jpg | Fire wagon File:Cash register on L'île aux Marins melted in a fire.jpg | Fire damage File:House on L'île aux Marins 06.jpg | House File:Graveyard on L'île aux Marins.jpg | Graveyard File:Ferry to L'île aux Marins in Saint-Pierre.jpg | Ferry to Île aux Marins in Saint-Pierre File:Ferry prices to L'île aux Marins in Saint-Pierre.jpg | Ferry prices File:Ferry schedule to L'île aux Marins in Saint-Pierre.jpg | Ferry schedule ==External links==