La Roche Percé, "the pierced rock," stands bold and firm to the end, though the cliffs of Mont Joli, on the mainland, and of Bonaventure Island, two miles out a sea, confirm the Indigenous tradition given by Denys that once there was no break in these perpendicular walls of rich-hued conglomerate, where the reds and browns of sandstone, the bright oli
A few kilometres south of the Jean-Chassé Bridge, still on Route 195, is the village of Saint-René-de-Matane. Here we find a 52-metre, 2-span bridge in the heart of the village.
At one time, there were covered bridges all over the Gaspé peninsula. Today, only a few of these historic spans remain. Most have fallen victim to demolition in the name of progress, vandalism or the elements, some within the last few years.
The permanent exhibition at the Kempffer Cultural and Interpretation Centre deals with an important aspect of the history of New Carlisle: that of its military past and its veterans. Because of several artefacts that had belonged to veterans from New Carlisle during the First and Second World Wars, the Kempffer Cultural and Interpretation Centre is able to render homage to the courage of the veterans from here.
In July 1760, a decisive battle was fought on the Restigouche River estuary at the western end of the Baie des Chaleurs. That battle, called the Battle of the Restigouche, would decide the fate not just of the sailors and soldiers involved but that of New France itself.
Judge Thompson House is a superb survivor from the first half of the nineteenth century. Overlooking Gerard D. Levesque Boulevard in New Carlisle, the house dates back to c.1838 and is one of the oldest buildings on this part of the Gaspé Coast.
One of the finest examples of mid-nineteenth century architecture on the Gaspé Coast is the mansion known as Hamilton Manor.
The Mi’kmaq occupied this land centuries before the first Europeans arrived and were probably the first Indigenous people to have regular contact with Europeans.This may have occurred as early as the eleventh century with the early Viking settlements on the coast of North America.The Mi’kmaq were skilled hunter-gatherers, attuned to the shifting, seasonal resources of the area and were noted for their fishing skills and their distinctive birch bark canoes that were capable of crossing open water.
