History |
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Wallace  Mi’ kmaq Archeological evidence suggests that the M’ kmaq have inhabited Nova Scotia for at least 10,500 years. The Mi’ kmaq language is part of the Algonquian family language. At the time of their first contact with Europeans, the Mi’ kmaq were widely spread throughout Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and parts of New Brunswick. The Museum is continuing to develop closer ties with the Mi’ kmaq peoples through guest speakers and an informative program of M’ kmaq / English signs along one of the walking trails. One of most extensive collections in the Museum is the native basket collection. The Davison family left a collection of over fifty native baskets from the nineteenth and twentieth century. Thirty eight are identified as of Mi’ kmaq construction. The basket collection includes many sizes, shapes, different uses and different materials such as black ash, sweet grass, quills and natural dyes. Acadians The most obvious reminder of the Acadian settlers living in the Wallace area (1710 - 1755) are the dykes. Dyked farmland is still clearly visible and confirms that several families farmed and lived in Remsheg. The several hard working families that toiled over the rich marsh land were deported by the English in what is called the Expulsion of the Acadians. Local author Francis Grant wrote that the male French settlers were marched to Tatamagouche and loaded on ships for expulsion, to the American seaboard, on August 15, 1755. A diary by the commanding officer at the time, Captain Abijiah Willard, tells of him giving the choice to the Acadian Men to say if the women and children should stay at Tatamagouche or be brought with them. The captives voted for the women to stay. One of Francis Grant’s stories suggests the female Acadians, left behind by the British, were rescued by French settlers from Isle St. Jean, (Prince Edward Island) came to the area to rescue the women and children left behind. United Empire Loyalists In 1783, the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence, from Great Britain, of the thirteen colonies along the Atlantic seaboard of America. A significant section of the population remained loyal to the British Crown. Between 80,000 and 100,000 loyalists migrated from the American Colonies to British controlled part of Northern Nova Scotia. Approximately 35,000 came to the Maritimes. Many of the Loyalists that settled in Wallace, then called “Remsheg”, were from Westchester, New York. There were 109 lots of 200 acres each in the Remsheg Grant. Loyalist settlers were also given one of 239 three acre lots building lots in the surveyed township of Fanningboro part of the Remsheg Grant. The descendants of many of these families are still in the Wallace area today. Some of the families are: Brown, Dotten, Forshner, Piers, Williams, McKim, Purdy and Tuttle. The Wallace Sandstone The legacy left from the heyday of construction using Wallace sandstone continues to be a source of pride for the local area. In its long history, Wallace sandstone has graced buildings from Halifax to San Francisco and forms part of the Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament buildings in Ottawa. The first quarry in the area was opened by architect Robert Scott, who was commissioned to build the Nova Scotia Legislature in 1811. Eventually several quarries opened along the Wallace River and two in Wallace. Wallace sandstone had many uses from sidewalk blocks, breakwaters, head stones, but is most famous for its building stone. The history of Wallace sandstone goes back much further than the nineteenth century when humans first worked the stone. The story of Wallace sandstone begins 300 million of years ago when the sandstone formed from the bed of a gigantic river created by the formation of the Appalachian Mountain range. This fast flowing river deposited beautiful clean sand as it wound its way through North Eastern North America and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Information and the history of the quarries and some of the fine stone buildings that were made from them, is available at the Museum. This summer, 2010, will feature the Sandstone quarries of Wallace. The Davison-Kennedy House The 222 acres of land belonging to the Museum was originally purchased from a United Empire Loyalist, Peter Tuttle, in the early nineteenth century by James B. Davison. In 1839, shortly after he had established a successful shipbuilding yard, Mr. Davison built the one-and-a-half story house which, presently, is the Museum. The property passed down through his descendants to his great-grandson, John Alexander Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy was a prosperous businessman who became president of his own electrical and refrigeration company. At his death in 1987, Mr. Kennedy donated both the house and the property to be used as a museum in memory of his family and their Wallace heritage. Before the museum officially opened its doors in 1992, extensive renovations and reconstruction had to be done. However there are many features of the house which are still in their original state. The exposed hand-hewn wooden beams in the reception area are original to the construction of the house in 1839. The floor boards on the second story have been preserved in their original state, along with the moldings on the doors and windows. Although Louisbourg green and mahogany brown are not the original colors of the house, they are consistent with the period during which the house was constructed. Modeling the Victorian style of the time, the house has an arch in the hallway with branching parallel rooms, Christian doors and disciple windows. A kitchen chamber above the reception area has been left in its original state, and was used as a place for shipyard workers to sleep. The hooks which held the men's hammocks are still embedded in the walls. Francis Grant Francis Grant was a business man poet and historian and he did much to preserve our local stories, folklore, tales and tragedies. He was a self-reliant and determined man who researched and recorded history for the sake of learning, preserving and sharing the past. Mr. Grant was born in Wallace on Dec. 12 1904 to Wylie and Annie (Charman) Grant. He was the oldest of seven children and he had one sister, Gertrude, and five brothers, Henry, Roy, Herb, Fred, and John. Francis received his education at the Wallace School, but in 1922 he went west to try his fortune. After a brief period Mr. Grant returned to Wallace where he trained to be a telegraph operator in the train station at Wallace Station. However, he soon left Wallace for "the West" again and worked in Alberta and British Columbia as a Telegrapher / Station Agent for seven years. Then in 1928, Mr. Grant married Josephine Love and they had one son, Jim and one daughter, Dorothy-Anne. In 1942 Francis Grant joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served in the Allied Forces until the conclusion of the war in 1945. After Mr. Grant finished his tour of duty he and his family returned to Wallace. Mr. Grant then joined his father in the family business and became part of the management of a successful general store. Grant's General Store, which was located on Wallace's main street is now closed but the building still exists today. In 1969 Francis Grant retired from Grant's General Store and began to write stories about the lives of extraordinary people, the history of Wallace, and stories about the sea. Mr. Grant's grandfather had been an all ocean Master Mariner and for a few years had served as a coasting skipper. Francis Grant had been fascinated with all of the stories and tall tales his grandfather had told him about the sea, the shipping world and the "Golden Age of Sail." Mr. Grant wrote five books of poetry, about the ocean, which he printed and bound himself. He also wrote two novel/adventure type books about nautical events. Between 1969 and his death in 1987, Mr. Grant recorded most of the oral history of Wallace. Some of the information about the village was gathered from local people who would send him written articles about their memories of a certain person or event. Mr. Grant also wrote numerous articles and stories about Wallace history for the local papers like the "Strait News." At one point during his career as an historian he remarked that "no day is ever long enough." Without Mr. Grant's historical work it is certain that a great and irreplaceable part of Wallace history and identity would have been lost. The Wallace and Area Museum is fortunate to have, in its collection, over one hundred of Francis Grant's files, his small printing press, and his clippings and research files. In 1992, when the Wallace and Area Museum opened, the Museum Society recognized Mr. Grant’s work for the community and named one of the rooms in the museum as a tribute to him. 2005 Expansion On June 11th 2005 the Wallace and Area Museum opened its expanded facility. The new facility is the result of many community involved planning meetings and long awaited expansion has greatly improved the Museum’s ability to safely house its collection. It has provided more display space, meeting space, and a small kitchen. The Displays Over one thousand artifacts are catalogued belonging to the Davison - Kennedy home and the Society Collection. This number of artifacts allow for display changes several times a year. The Wallace and Area Museum Society's Statement of Purpose directs the society to follow several display themes, the Davison Family, Wallace History, Area Industrial History and Francis Grant's writings, While these themes remain the same, often the artifacts and stories change within each topic. Some of the display topics for the past few years were: Native Baskets and Basket Making Illustrated London News 1853 to 1860 Marine Charts and Maps of the Nineteenth Century Pre- Confederation Letters The Wallace Sandstone Quarries The United Empire Loyalist grant Shipbuilding in Wallace Top Twenty-five artifacts in the Museum’s Collection The Dr. Mitchell Stone House The Wallace “Strait News.” Antique Toys Grant Family History Hat Collection Butter making equipment Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother The Great Astronomer Simon Newcomb Lithographs of Charles Dickens stories Canadian Military Heritage Display theme for summer 2010: The History of Wallace Sandstone; “from creation to construction.” Nobel Prize winner Willard S. Boyle During the summer of 2010, the Wallace and Area Museum will be celebrating the 2009 winning of the Nobel Prize for Physics by Wallace resident Willard S. Boyle. A Condensed Matter Physicist, one of Mr. Boyle’s nineteen patents is his Co-Invention of the Charge Coupled Device (CCD), for which he won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. Mr. Boyle’s research and invention has lead to world changing technology. Applications of the CCD have resulted in thousands of devices with life changing consequences, such as digital cameras, image recorders, and medical image devices. Mr. Boyle, a Wallace resident was born in the 1920’s, while his father was a doctor in Wallace. Bill’s family have deep roots in Wallace, though most of his early years were spent growing up in a small town north of Quebec City where his father ran the hospital. Since retiring to Wallace in the 1980’s, Bill and Betty have taken interest in many community organizations. Both have served on the Wallace and Area Museum’s Board of Directors and today support the Museum’s many activities. Future Plans The Wallace and Area Museum will, according to its Mission Statement continue to collect, preserve, and display local history and artifacts. Educational programs will continue to be developed to show the beauty and heritage of Northern Nova Scotia. It is the Museum’s desire to expand our areas of natural beauty and to provide a better and more informed experience at the Wallace and Area Museum. |