Grand Manan is a Canadian island in the Bay of Fundy, part of the province of New Brunswick. Grand Manan is also the name of an incorporated village, which includes the main island and numerous nearby islands; White Head Island, small islands near it, and Machias Seal Island are not part of the village.[lower-alpha 1]
The point on the mainland closest to the island is near the town of Lubec, Maine, the easternmost point of the continental United States, 15 kilometres (8 nautical miles) across the Grand Manan Channel. Grand Manan is 32 kilometres south of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick.
Toponymy
"Manan" is a corruption of mun-an-ook or man-an-ook, meaning "island place" or "the island", from the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy-PenobscotFirst Nations who, according to oral history, used Grand Manan and its surrounding islands as a safe place for the elderly Passamaquoddy during winter months and as a sacred burial place (ook means "people of"). In 1606 Samuel de Champlain sheltered on nearby White Head Island and produced a map calling the island "Manthane", which he later changed to "Menane" or "Menasne".
Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes charted the area around 1520, but the island does not appear clearly on a map until 1558, produced by Portuguese cartographer Diogo Homem. French merchant-explorer Étienne Bellenger visited the area in January 1583.
In 1693, the island was granted to Paul D'Ailleboust, Sieur de Périgny as part of Champlain's "New France". D'Ailleboust did not take possession of it, and it reverted to the French Crown, in whose possession it remained until 1713, when it was traded to the British in the Treaty of Utrecht.
The first permanent settlement was established in 1784, when Moses Gerrish gathered a group of settlers on an area of Grand Manan he called Ross Island, in honour of settler Thomas Ross. During the American Revolution, just off the island there were many naval battles between American privateers and British shipping.[3]
Because of the Treaty of Paris (1783), the U.S. considered Grand Manan to be its possession due to the island's proximity to Maine. Britain obtained title in Jay's Treaty of 1794, while surrendering its sovereignty claims over Eastport on Moose, Frederick and Dudley islands in nearby Cobscook Bay.
From 1812 to 1814, the Bay of Fundy was infested with privateers who raided and plundered villages. The ownership of islands in Passamaquoddy Bay was not settled until 1817, when the United States gave up its claim to Grand Manan and the surrounding islands.
By 1832 schools were established by the Anglican Church. While neighbouring islands along the American coast to Boston relied on whaling, Grand Manan had fishing and shipbuilding.
This period was also marked by a number of shipwrecks off the island's rocky, cliff-lined coast. In 1857, the Lord Ashburton, was driven into the cliffs at the northern end of the island by hurricane-force winds to great loss of life.[5] Another wreck was the Nova Scotian barqueWalton, which was bound for Saint John, New Brunswick, from Wales when it wrecked on the White Ledge off Grand Manan on September 14, 1878.[6]
By 1851, the island population numbered almost 1,200 permanent inhabitants, most working in fishing.
By 1884, Grand Manan became the largest supplier of smoked herring in the world. By 1920, it produced one million boxes—or twenty thousand tons—of smoked herring, all caught in its local waters.[citation needed]
By the late Victorian era, Grand Manan had been discovered by a new breed of explorers—the "tourists"—who began visiting the island in steady numbers, weaving themselves into the fabric of its close-knit, isolated society. Pulitzer Prize–winning author Willa Cather loved the island's unspoiled solitude, while painters such as Alfred Thompson Bricher and John James Audubon came to Grand Manan and its outlying islands to capture what they believed to be its "unique majesty", documenting its varied geography and indigenous fauna.[citation needed]
Grand Manan Island is the largest of the Fundy Islands and the primary island in the Grand Manan archipelago. The archipelago incorporates many nearby smaller islands including popular White Head Island, Ross and Cheney Islands, the Wood Islands and dozens of surrounding shoaling rocks.[3]
The Western side of the main island and the smaller islands form numerous passages, coves, and rocky reefs.
Grand Manan is 34km (21mi) long and has a maximum width of 18km (11mi) with an area of 137km2 (53sqmi).
The vast majority of Grand Manan residents live on the eastern side of the island. Due to limited access, 90-metre (300ft) cliffs and high winds, the western side of the island is not residentially developed.
Geology
Map of Grand Manan Geology
The western two-thirds of the island shows thick lava flows (basalt) of Late Triassic age, part of a flood basalt that underlies most of the Bay of Fundy. The Fundy basalts are themselves a small portion of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province which was formed in a volcanic event preceding the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea in the Early Jurassic.
Many minerals have filled the cracks and bubbles left by gases boiling out of the cooling lavas. They include zeolite minerals such as chabazite, mesolite, stilbite, and heulandite, plus attractive quartz-related amethyst, agate, jasper, and many others. Good collecting areas include Seven Days Work, Indian Beach, and Bradford Cove. A few meters of siltstone are exposed under the basalt along the western shoreline, which by analogy with the Blomidon Formation in Nova Scotia must include the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.[7]
Harbours along the eastern shoreline were created by the erosion of complex fault and fold structures in ancient metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rock formations. A major north–south fault is exposed at Red Point, and it divides these older eastern rocks from the western basalts. The metamorphic formations are organized into groups called Castalia, Ingalls Head, and Grand Manan, and there are also metamorphosed plutonic masses such as Stanley Brook Granite, Rockweed Pond Gabbro, and Kent Island Granite.
These rocks have recently been dated between 539 and 618 million years old [ref. Black and others, 2007] and are now considered to correlate with the New River and Mascarene terranes of southern New Brunswick, Canada. Although originally they were igneous and sedimentary rocks such as basalt, sandstone, and shale, the eastern formations have been metamorphosed into greenstone, phyllite, argillite, schist, quartzite, and other foliated types. In addition, many folds and faults have bent and broken the formations in rather tortured-looking outcrops. One such fault can be seen at the north end of Pettes Cove, where it separates metabasalt of Swallowtail Head from schist of North Head.
Climate
Grand Manan has a humid continental climate (Dfb). The climate in spring, summer and fall is very comfortable but winter has an inconsistent weather pattern with snow, rain, freezing rain and mild weather. Since 2000, the average annual precipitation has been 859.8mm with August being the driest month (35mm) and October (112mm) the wettest.
The highest temperature ever recorded on Grand Manan was 33.3°C (92°F) on 26 July 1963.[8] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −30.6°C (−23°F) on 10 January 1890.[9]
Climate data for Grand Manan (Seal Cove), 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1883–present[lower-alpha 2]
Grand Manan's economy is dependent upon fishing, aquaculture and tourism. Lobster, herring, scallops and crab are most commonly sought among fishermen. Together with ocean salmon farms, dulse, rock weed and clam digging, many residents make their living "on the water."
Tourism is growing significantly, providing the island with a highly profitable "green" industry. Whale and bird watching, camping and kayaking are popular activities for tourists. Visitors and retirees often purchase real estate and remain on the island through the summer months or reside permanently. Approximately 54% of the island is owned by non-residents.[citation needed] New York architect Michael Zimmer established the Sardine Museum and Herring Hall of Fame.[13]
There are freshwater ponds, lakes and beaches that are prime locations for sunbathing, beachcombing, and picnics. Other interesting finds on Grand Manan are magnetic sand, and "The Hole-In-The Wall" located in Whale Cove in the village of North Head. The Anchorage Provincial Park can be found on the island's southeastern coast between the communities of Grand Harbour and Seal Cove.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Grand Manan had a population of 2,595 living in 1,179 of its 1,408 total private dwellings, a change of 10% from its 2016 population of 2,360. With a land area of 150.56km2 (58.13sqmi), it had a population density of 17.2/km2 (44.6/sqmi) in 2021.[14]
As of 2016, the racial make-up of the island was 99.17% White; and less than 1% Latin American and Aboriginal populations. Those who were third generation or more made up 89% of the population.
There were 1,045 households, out of which 23% had children under the age of 18 living with them. Of the 700 census families on the island, 71.42% were married couples living together. The average family size was 2.90.
On the island the population was spread out, with 25% age 19 or under; 5% from 20 to 24, 27% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% at 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.3 years.
The median income for a family was $48,190. Males had a median income of $32,183 versus $23,106 for females. A full 63% of the population 15 years and older had at least a high school certificate or equivalent, with 22% having at least some college, CEGEP, or university training.
Infrastructure
Grand Manan HospitalGrand Manan V ferry at North Head
The village was formed in 1995 by the amalgamation of the villages of Grand Harbour, North Head, and Seal Cove, along with the local service districts of Castalia, Woodwards Cove, and the parish of Grand Manan.
The only medical facility is the Grand Manan Hospital, operated by Horizon Health Network, provides family medicine, emergency medicine and palliative care. The hospital also has an eight-bed inpatient unit. There are onsite diabetes clinics, physiotherapy as well as telemedicine. Diagnostics include x-ray, EKG, and blood and specimen collecting.[18]
Access and transportation
Coastal Transport Limited operates the Blacks Harbour to Grand Manan Island Ferry. The crossing is approximately one and one-half hours.
The Grand Manan Island to White Head Island Ferry, serves the 220 residents of White Head Island from Ingalls Head on Grand Manan, with a trip of about half an hour.
Airplane service is available to most destinations in the Maritime region and some destinations in the New England States from the Grand Manan Airport.
New Brunswick Route 776 is the main road on Grand Manan, running on a north–south alignment along the island's eastern coast.
Saint John is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of George III. The port is Canada's third-largest port by tonnage with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise. The city was the most populous in New Brunswick until the 2016 census, when it was overtaken by Moncton. It is currently the second-largest city in the province, with a population of 69,895 over an area of 315.59 km2 (121.85 sq mi).
The Bay of Fundy is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its tidal range is the highest in the world. The name is probably a corruption of the French word fendu, meaning 'split'.
Lubec is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. It is the easternmost municipality in the contiguous U.S. and is the country's closest continental location to Africa.
Charlotte County is the southwest-most county of New Brunswick, Canada.
Campobello Island is the largest and only inhabited island in Campobello, a civil parish in southwestern New Brunswick, Canada, near the border with Maine, United States. The island's permanent population in 2021 was 949. It is the site of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park and of Herring Cove Provincial Park.
Machias Seal Island is an island in disputed water between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, about 16 km (10 mi) southeast from Cutler, Maine, and 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Sovereignty of the island is disputed by the United States and Canada. The Canadian Coast Guard continues to staff a lighthouse on the island; the first lighthouse was constructed there in 1832.
Coastal Transport Limited is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada on the Bay of Fundy with headquarters in Saint John, New Brunswick. The company began as a wholly owned subsidiary of Marine Atlantic Incorporated (MAI), and in April 1997 was sold to Murray O. Ryder, the former MAI Vice President of Operations.
White Head Island is an island located in the Bay of Fundy. It is off the east coast of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. In 2011 the island had a population of 162. White Head Island is governed as a local service district.
Route 776 is a provincial highway in New Brunswick, Canada. It serves as the main road on Charlotte County's Grand Manan Island, following the entire eastern coast of the island.
The Anchorage Provincial Park is a public park located on the south-east coast of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada. The island, the largest in the Bay of Fundy, is also the primary island in the Grand Manan Archipelago, sitting at the boundary between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is a part of the Government of New Brunswick. It is charged with maintenance of government facilities and the province's highway network. From 1855 to 1912, it was known as the Board of Public Works. From 1912 to 1967, it was known as Department of Public Works and Highways. In 1967, its functions were divided between the Department of Public Works and the Department of Transportation. In 2012, the Department of Transportation and the infrastructure management components of the Department of Supply and Services were merged back together.
The Fundy Islands, also known as the Fundy Isles, is a term given to a group of Canadian islands in the Bay of Fundy along the southwestern coast of New Brunswick, Canada, in the provincial county of Charlotte.
West Isles is a civil parish in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada.
Grand Manan is a civil parish in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada, comprising one village and one local service district (LSD), both of which are members of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission (SNBSC). The parish includes Grand Manan Island and numerous lesser islands, only one of which has permanent year-round inhabitants.
Allan Leopold Moses was a Canadian naturalist, taxidermist, and conservationist. A native of Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy, he participated in scientific expeditions sponsored by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the American Museum of Natural History. By encouraging John Sterling Rockefeller to purchase Kent Island as a bird sanctuary in 1930, he was instrumental in the revival of the Bay of Fundy common eider population. His taxidermy collection of over 300 birds, all mounted by his grandfather, father, or himself and now displayed in the Grand Manan Museum, is one of the largest in Canada.
The Swallowtail Lighthouse is a Canadian lighthouse located on Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. It was the first lighthouse to be built on the island. It was first lit on 7 July 1860 and was automated and de-staffed in 1986.
Moses Gerrish was a United Empire Loyalist and one of the original settlers of the island of Grand Manan.
The Grand Harbour Lighthouse was a Canadian lighthouse marking the entrance to Grand Harbour, Grand Manan, New Brunswick. It was built and first lit in 1879 and was decommissioned in 1963. It was severely damaged in the Groundhog Day gale of 1976 and destroyed by a gale in November 2013.
↑ Canadian Geographic 2007 -Page 58 "These weathered structures still line Seal Cove's picturesque harbour, and one contains the Sardine Museum and Herring Hall of Fame, an offbeat tourist attraction established by a wealthy New Yorker to exhibit obsolete fishing equipment as..."
↑ Originally defined as "all of Grand Manan Parish except the local service district of White Head Island", the 2023 New Brunswick local governance reforms finally clarified the status of Machias Seal Island and small islands immediately off White Head Island.[2]
↑ 1981–2010 normals are derived from data collected at Seal Cove, however extreme high and low temperatures have been recorded on various parts of the island since 1883. Based on station coordinates, climate data was recorded in the area of Castalia from July 1883 to April 1912 and again from July 1962 to March 1965, at Seal Cove from November 1987 to February 2004 and at Grand Manan Airport from November 2000 to present.
Further reading
Eric Allaby, Grand Manan: Grand Harbour, Grand Manan Museum, Inc., 64 p., 1984.
Joshua M. Smith, Borderland Smuggling: Patriots, Loyalists and Illicit Trade in the Northeast, 1783–1820 Gainesville, University Press of Florida, 2006.
Elaine Ingalls Hogg, Historic Grand Manan: Images of Our Past. Nimbus Publishing, 2007.
Tim Peters, Rhythm of the Tides, Tim Peter's Publishing, August 2000
Fyffe, L.R., Grant, R.H., and McHone, J.G., 2011, Bedrock geology of Grand Manan Island (parts of NTS 21 B/1O and B/15): New Brunswick, Department of Natural Resources: Lands, Minerals, and Petroleum Division, Plate 2011-14 (map scale 1:50,000).
Miller, B. V.; Barr, S. M.; Black, R. S. (2007). "Neoproterozoic and Cambrian U–Pb (zircon) ages from Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick: implications for stratigraphy and northern Appalachian terrane correlations". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 44 (7): 911–923. Bibcode:2007CaJES..44..911M. doi:10.1139/e06-132.
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