{"id":200005,"date":"2021-01-07T15:13:27","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T20:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csce.dev\/en\/?post_type=historic_site&p=200005"},"modified":"2022-07-08T09:44:57","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T13:44:57","slug":"acadien-aboiteaux-fort-beausejour","status":"publish","type":"historic_site","link":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/historic-site\/acadien-aboiteaux-fort-beausejour\/","title":{"rendered":"Acadien Aboiteaux, Fort Beaus\u00e9jour"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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CSCE interpretive sign at the aboiteau site. (Source: G. H\u00e9bert)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Site Location: Lat.: 45\u00b0 \u2013 52\u2019 \u2013 19\u201d N; Long. 64\u00b0 \u2013 18\u2019 \u2013 32\u201d W. (GPS: 45.8719045, -64.3089243). Take the Highway 16 southwest from Trans Canada Highway 2 and, where it ends at a T-junction, turn right (north) on Aulac Road. After 0.7 km, keep left at a fork, and after 0.5 km, keep left at a second fork. Follow the road for another 1.1 km along the top of the dyke, including a sharp turn to the left, to the aboiteau. The aboiteau is marked with several interpretive signs, including the CSCE sign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Plaque in display at d\u00e9partment de g\u00e9nie civil, universit\u00e9 de Moncton. (Source: G. H\u00e9bert)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Location: Lat.: 46\u00b0 \u2013 6\u2019 \u2013 23\u201d N; Long. 64\u00b0 \u2013 47\u2019 \u2013 20\u201d W. (GPS: 46.1063416,-64.7888503). D\u00e9partment de g\u00e9nie civil, universit\u00e9 de Moncton, Facult\u00e9 d\u2019ing\u00e9nierie, 57 Notre-Dame-du-Sacr\u00e9-Coeur Street, Moncton.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Description: Acadians settling adjacent to the Baie Fran\u00e7aise (now Bay of Fundy) in the 17th Century faced low-lying saltwater marshes and heavily forested highlands. They had neither time nor resources to clear and grub the land for agriculture so used aboiteaux and diking techniques developed in Western France to turn the marshes into agricultural land. When the Acadians were deported in 1764, newly arrived Loyalists from New England took their farms but could not maintain the dykes and aboiteaux. To save the farmland and preserve the existence of the new settlers, the Colonial Government released imprisoned Acadians to serve the Loyalists by reconstructing and maintaining the aboiteaux.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Function of the aboiteau flap gate. (Source: CSCE)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Historic Significance: The key technology was the aboiteau, a covered channel through the dyke with an internal flap gate as shown schematically in the above figure. At high tide, the flap gate automatically closes, keeping the saltwater out. At low tide, it opens, releasing fresh rainwater to the sea. The time necessary to desalinate the marsh by leaching the salt with rainwater through the aboiteau could be as short as two years. By 1750, the Acadian colony had reclaimed 13000 acres (5300 hectares) of saltwater marsh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Plaque detail. (Source: G. H\u00e9bert)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque wording: Site Historique National de G\u00e9nie Civil. SCGC. LES ABOITEAUX ACADIENS. La Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne de genie civil reconna\u00eet et honore la contribution scientifique et les concepts d\u2019ing\u00e9nierie du people acadien. Ces concepts d\u2019ing\u00e9nierie ont \u00e9t\u00e9 utilizes dans la r\u00e9alisation et l\u2019am\u00e9nagement des aboiteaux et des digues n\u00e9cessaires pur gagner des \u00e9tendues de terres agricoles sur les marais salins. La mise en oeuvre de ces concepts d\u2019ing\u00e9nierie, d\u00e8s de le 17e si\u00e8cle, a permis l\u2019\u00e9tablissement de la premi\u00e8re colonie agraire durable au Canada et plus sp\u00e9cifiquement dans les provinces maritimes. L\u2019entretien et le maintien des ces centaines de premiers abouteaux et digues devinrent la responsabilit\u00e9 des gouvernments provinciaux. Ces aboiteux sont encore fonctionnels aujourd\u2019hui. Les aboiteaux prot\u00e8gent les propri\u00e9t\u00e9s riveraines, privies et publiques; les routes et voies ferr\u00e9es; ainsi, que de nombreux services publics. Les terres prot\u00e9g\u00e9es on des caract\u00e9ristiques uniques qui attirent des activit\u00e9s comme la chasse, l\u2019observation de la faune, la photographie et le tourisme. Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne de g\u00e9nie civil. 2014.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

CSCE. National Historic Civil Engineering Site. LES ABOITEAUX ACADIENS. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineers recognizes and honours the scientific and engineering knowledge introduced by the Acadian people. In the 17th Century, Acadian settlers needed to convert vast areas of salt marshes on the Bay of Fundy to arable fields and pastures. They built a series of ingenious aboiteaux and dykes to reclaim these tidal lands for agricultural purposes. These water control systems contributed to the establishment of the first sustainable colony in Canada and more specifically in the Maritime Provinces. The maintenance of these early structures was subsequently taking over by the provincial governments. These aboiteaux and dykes are still in use today providing flood protection for modern-day infrastructure like private and public properties, roads, railway beds and utilities. The unique ecosystem created now attracts people to activities such as hunting, bird watching, photography and tourism. 2014. Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Unveiling Ceremony (October 18, 2017):<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Plaque unveiling, at Universit\u00e9 de Moncton. From left to right: J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Aub\u00e9, P.Eng, Chair, East NB (Moncton) & PEI CSCE Section; Samuel Richard, P.Eng, Vice President, Atlantic Region, CSCE; Name unknown, President of the Student Union, UdeM; Name unknown, President of the UdeM Alumni; His Worship, Yvon Lapierre, Mayor, City of Dieppe; Bernard Lord, Co-President, \u00c9volution, UdeM Funding Campaign; Bernard LeBlanc, Former Director, Mus\u00e9e Acadien, UdeM; Gilles H\u00e9bert, P.Eng, Secretary, East NB (Moncton) & PEI CSCE Section; Raymond Th\u00e9berge, President and Vice Chancellor UdeM; The Honorable Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, P.Eng. Lieutenant Governor NB; Ronald Vienneau, spouse to Lieutenant Governor; Gilles Roy, P.Eng, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, UdeM; Alistair MacKenzie, Chair, CSCE History Committee; and, Linda Schofield, UdeM Director of the Foundation Evolution. (Source: G. H\u00e9bert)<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Site Location: Lat.: 45\u00b0 \u2013 52\u2019 \u2013 19\u201d N; Long. 64\u00b0 \u2013 18\u2019 \u2013 32\u201d W. (GPS: 45.8719045, -64.3089243). Take the Highway 16 southwest from Trans Canada Highway 2 and, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22598,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","classification":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/200005"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/historic_site"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200005"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/200005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211083,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/200005\/revisions\/211083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"classification","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/classification?post=200005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}