Barachois 350
In 1672, Seigneur Pierre Denys de la Ronde constructed a winter residence at La Petite-Rivière, now Barachois.
This was the first permanent French establishment in the Gaspé Peninsula. There was a residence that could accommodate fifteen people, a barn, a stable, a warehouse for food and for tools for boats, a garden. The site was surrounded by a palisade of wooden posts.
In 2022 and 2023, the Barachois and Area Development Committee (BADC) organized a variety of activities to mark this important anniversary.
- Opening Ceremony
- Musical Performances and Community Supper
- Photo Exposition on the History of Barachois
- Articles Published in the Magazine Gaspésie
- Conference by Élaine Réhel: the Protestants from Gaspé to Percé
- Photo Contest and Exhibition
- Interpretive Panels on the History of Barachois
- Activities with the Students of Belle Anse School
On July 20, 2022, BADC launched the commemoration of the 350th Anniversary with an opening ceremony attended by many local dignitaries and community members.
The Honorary President, Mr. Harris Thompson, expressed his attachment to Barachois in a recorded message that you can listen to HERE.
The ceremony took place in a festive atmosphere with music by the group The Triculturals, representing the Mi’kmaq, French and English cultures of the Gaspé Peninsula. They notably performed Mawlugutimg, a song composed for the 15th anniversary of Gaspesian Day. Listen HERE.
The ceremony was followed by a community BBQ and, in the evening, a performance by The Triculturals.
Article by Radio-Canada (French)
Interview with Janet Harvey (French) on Télé communautaire du Rocher-Percé
Article by Jean-Philippe Thibault in the Gaspésie Nouvelles the 20th of July 2022 (French)
August 5, 2022: Performance by the famous bluegrass band Ray Legere and Acoustic Horizon, from Nova Scotia. The next day, the band led a Kitchen Party style activity for a few hours with musicians from Barachois and the surrounding area.
August 6, 2022: Performance by Gaspé musician Félix Soude and the rockabilly group The Eddy Blake Trio from Montreal, who had the audience dancing for hours with their 50s Rock and Roll music.
Félix Soude
The Eddy Blake Trio
August 7, 2022: Community supper offered by the Mountain View Golden Age Club.
From July 2022 to March 2023, BADC held a photo exhibition on the history of Barachois on the 2nd floor of the Thompson General Store (Robin’s) in Barachois.
The old photos – from the Musée de la Gaspésie, the Archives nationales du Québec, and personal collections – and the accompanying texts provided a glimpse into the lives of the people who populated Barachois and the surrounding area: fishing, forestry, agriculture, shipbuilding, the village. A journey through time that awakened memories for some and gave others a glimpse of another world. Several children left moving testimonies of their attachment to Barachois through a few words or drawings.
Students from Belle-Anse school visited the exhibition with the principal and teachers.
To close the exhibition, historian Jean-Marie Thibeault spoke, with his usual liveliness, about the history of Barachois and the surrounding area. Those present enjoyed listening to him and looking at the many illustrations to support his remarks.
You can see the photos and read the texts presented as part of the exhibition Once upon a time Barachois… in pictures HERE
Three articles published in the Magazine Gaspésie of the Musée de la Gaspésie highlight several aspects of the history of Barachois and help preserve our historical heritage for future generations.
Let’s celebrate the 350th anniversary of the permanent settlement of Petite-Rivière in Barachois
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An article by Pascale Gagnon on the history of Barachois published in the Summer 2022 issue (Volume 59, Number 2, pp. 49–52). Read it HERE
L’industrie forestière à Barachois sous l’œil de l’arpenteur-géomètre (The forestry industry in Barachois under the eye of the land surveyor – in French only)
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An article by Christian Roy published in the spring 2022 issue (volume 59, number 1, pp. 32–34). Read it HERE (in French only)
Marie Boudot (1715-1805)
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An article by Janet Harvey on the “matriarch” of the Chicoine’s of the region appeared in the Summer 2023 issue (Volume 60, Number 2, pp. 48–50). Read it HERE
On July 28, 2022, Élaine Réhel presented her bilingual book on the genealogy of Protestant families in the region: Les protestants de Gaspé à Percé – The Protestants from Gaspé to Percé.
In early 2023, BADC organized a photo contest entitled Barachois, our village and its barachois. The photos selected by the jury were exhibited during the summer of 2023 on the second floor of the Thompson General Store (Robin’s) in Barachois.
The photographers who participated captured the exceptional beauty of our part of the country. Here, we present the photos that received a juried prize, as well as the one selected by the public.
The BADC has installed six interpretive panels at the Barachois roadside rest area (halte) describing the history of Barachois. The panels explain the Indigenous presence, the fishing post of Pierre Denys de La Ronde (1672), the village center, fisheries, forestry, and the typical fishing boat known as the barge of Belle-Anse. Through this legacy to the community, the BADC hopes to promote the village’s heritage and preserve it for future generations.
The unveiling of the panels took place on November 3, 2023, in the presence of community members and dignitaries.
Students from Belle Anse School participated in a genealogy project on six families who have been present in the region for several generations: the Chicoines, the Johnsons, the Laflammes, the Lucases, the Rehels and the Touzels. They also visited the Musée de la Gaspésie where they met the archivist.
On November 9, 2023, students buried a time capsule in the schoolyard, to be opened in 25 years. The capsule contains various objects chosen by the students as well as letters they wrote to themselves. Various documents produced as part of the 350th anniversary were also placed inside.
The Barachois 350 Organizing Committee
See the extraordinary landscape of Barachois and view the unique images of this enchanting historical village
