Along the Bay of Fundy, the Annapolis Valley (the Valley) runs from southwest to northeast, between the town of Digby and the Minas Basin. It is one of Nova Scotia’s most fertile agricultural valleys and, moreover, a valley with incomparable Acadian heritage, in the heart of historic Acadia. In this region steeped in history, the Association francophone de la Vallée, founded in 2003, is committed to strengthening the Francophone community, which is a minority [1] in the region. Its perimeter of action extends to the city of Windsor, in the southern part of the Minas Basin. Let us now return to the Acadian past of the Valley, after taking a closer look at its geography, which is more complex than it seems…
Highlights of Acadian history
The Valley is made up of two distinct main valleys, the Annapolis River Valley and the Cornwallis River Valley. These two rivers originate in the same central region, near Berwick, and flow in opposite directions, the one to the Annapolis Basin, the other to the Minas Basin, fed by their tributary rivers. Wedged between the narrow northern mountain bordering the Bay of Fundy and the southern mountain, the Valley has a warmer microclimate that is conducive to agriculture. This is what the Acadian settlers understood when they dammed the lowlands of the marshes of the Annapolis River, then those of the Minas Basin, in order to cultivate and settle there.
Today, four national historic sites keep the Valley’s Acadian memory alive. In Port-Royal, on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, the Port-Royal Habitation is a replica of the original buildings built by the French in 1605. Also in Port-Royal, the Melanson Settlement unveils the remains of a 17th and 18th century Acadian family farm establishment. Further east, at Annapolis Royal, Fort Anne is a fortified site of French architecture inspired by Vauban, where only the ruins of successive 18th- and 19th-century buildings remain. Finally, on the shores of the Minas Basin, the Grand-Pré site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, commemorates the painful history of the deportation of the Acadians.
The Association francophone de la Vallée can only be proud of such a heritage. Located in the community centre next to the Rose-des-Vents Francophone school in Greenwood, it owes its ability to act in part to its imposing neighbour, Greenwood Air Force Base, which has French-speaking soldiers. The Francophone association is chaired by a veteran of the armed forces and welcomes many military families. Moreover, the primary school created in 1923 for all military children became, in 2001, the current Francophone school. With more than 200 students from military families and other families of Francophone culture, the Rose-des-Vents school represents tremendous hope for the future of the Francophonie in the Valley.
Header image: View of the Annapolis River from Fort Anne (author paulhami, license CC BY-SA 2.0).
Jean-Marc Agator
Paris, France
[1] Only 7 to 9% of the inhabitants of the Valley are able to conduct a conversation in both official languages (Statistics Canada 2021).