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2541 HIGH RD |
Nova Scotia Tourism Region : Cape Breton Island
Description From Owner:
- Arichat is the shire town of Richmond County and likely owes its present name to missionary Father François Lejamtel. In 1800 he replied to a letter from his bishop, Joseph-Octave Plessis (1763-1825):
- 'You ask me why I write Arischat while the people say Narischaque. When I arrived in this country in 1792 I saw all sorts of spellings applied to the place: Neireichak, Narichat, Narachaque, Anarachaque, etc.
- What made me decide to write Arischat was the government spelling, and I thought the other spellings should yield to it.' With the exception of a dropped 's,' Father Lejamtel's version has survived;
- unfortunately the meaning of the original Mi'kmaw name has not.
- In 1722, Ruette d'Auteuil, former Procurer-General at Quebec was granted Isle Madame and operated a fishery until 1726. By 1774 the population was 238. A courthouse was built in 1814 and a school in 1828.
- The Arichat Seminary, precursor of St. Francis Xavier College, opened here in 1853. An early French name for the harbour was Port Sainte Marie.
- In the late 1700s and early 1800s many Channel Islanders emigrated to this area because of its proximity to great fishing waters. One early settlers was Isaac LeVesconte (1822-79), who relocated here from Jersey in 1834.
- He was elected to the Nova Scotia legislature as MLA for Richmond and from 1869-74 represented Richmond in the House of Commons.
- Isle Madame: The island is connected by causeway and bridge across Lennox Passage to the SE corner of Cape Breton Island.
- It was settled by France and believed to have been named for Madame de Maintenon, second wife of King Louis XIV. After the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, 4,000 inhabitants were deported.
- The island is 16 km long and 11 km wide with a land area of 45 sq. km. The island is connected by bridge to neighbouring Petit-deGrat Island and by causeway and bridge to Janvrin Island.
- With permission from 'Nova Scotia Place Names' David E. Scott 2015
Address of this page: http://ns.ruralroutes.com/Arichat