Beans Island

Beans Island

Native name: Muskoont'kik. [1]
Geography
Location	Bay of Fundy
Coordinates	44°59′55″N66°55′59″W / 44.99861°N 66.93306°W / 44.99861; -66.93306
Administration
Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Charlotte
Parish	West Isles Parish

Beans Island, (also called Bains Island) is a small uninhabited island in the West Isles Parish of Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada, where the Bay of Fundy enters Passamaquoddy Bay. It is particularly known for being the site of North America's first lobster pound. The island has long since been abandoned. ^[2] though its shores house a series of salmon hatcheries. ^[3]

It is composed of heavy beds of pinkish chert felsite. ^{[4] [ failed verification ]}

History

It was granted to John Bean in 1806, with the grant also naming John and David Mowat, of Mowat's Island. ^{[5] [6]} William Martin Trecartin married Sarah Mary Drake in 1810, after which they relocated to Beans Island. ^[7]

Later, the population grew and George Case and two families petitioned the province for funds for a school in 1828 but been denied, although one was later built. ^{[8] [9]} In 1832, Thomas Baillie wrote that Beans Island had only two families settled on it. ^[10]

In 1859, Peter Leslie was born on the island. ^[11] In 1900, one of the earliest pioneers Andrew Lord died on Beans Island, and was buried at Lord's Cove. ^[12] Benjamin Simpson also lived on the island at this time. ^[13]

In Summer 2012, the island was one of four studied as a rockweed habitat as it is commercially harvested here by locals. ^[14]

References

1. "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick".
2. Welch, H. Wesley. "Welcome to Deer Island: Deer Island History", 1967. In reference collection St. Croix Library
3. Scott, Doug (October 16, 2010). "Close to noon, we set our sights on the aptly named Sandy Island for lunch". Telegraph-Journal . p. F4. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
4. Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress 1870-1871, pgs 82-111, https://archive.org/details/report-of-progress-gsc_1870-1871/page/n5/mode/2up
5. "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick".
6. "Beans Island". 6 September 2022.
7. Arthur L. Lord’s Genealogy of the Lords of West Isles, New Brunswick: see page 9
8. Journal of the House of Assembly of the province of New-Brunswick, from Thursday the 14th day of February, to Saturday the 5th day of April, 1828 : 1828
9. An account of the province of New Brunswick : including a description of the settlements, institutions, soil, and climate of that important province : with advice to emigrants. Pg 147
10. https://ia801305.us.archive.org/33/items/cihm_21383/cihm_21383.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
11. The Beacon : Vol. XXIX, No. 45 (May 11, 1918)
12. The Christian : [Vol. 6, no. 8 (June 1889)]
13. The Daily Gleaner : June 8, 1901-December 4, 1901
14. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-016-3027-3, "Regional differences and linkage between canopy structure and community composition of rockweed habitats in Atlantic Canada"