Westmorland County: Coastal Connections and History

Westmorland County can be explored through two readily identifiable themes: coastal geography and history. The county borders the Northumberland Strait and the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy. Specific historical points of interest include railway history in Shediac, the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre in Sackville, and Fort Beauséjour/Cumberland. If you are looking for a hotel in Westmorland County, these different points of interest can help you shape your travel plans around a theme.

Coastal Geography and Cultural Landscape

The county’s boundaries touch two bodies of water that serve as distinct geographical reference points: the Northumberland Strait and the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy. The county also has a landscape with its own cultural significance. The marshlands of Westmorland were an important part of the traditional routes of the Mi’kmaq. Thus, in addition to historic buildings and events, the marshlands are also among the features that help define the area.

These connections answer different questions when choosing a destination: the bodies of water describe the geographical setting, while the marshlands point to a cultural context.

From Railways to Shipbuilding

In 1857, the second railway line built in the Maritimes was inaugurated in Shediac. This is a clearly dated connection to the region’s transportation history. In Sackville, the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre offers a different historical perspective: visitors can explore New Brunswick’s industrial past in shipbuilding there.

The Boultenhouse Heritage Centre consists of three buildings. The Bulmer family built a Georgian house around 1790; in 1840, Boultenhouse built a house in the Greek Revival style. The Anderson Octagonal House dates from around 1855. The dates provide a chronological reference, while the different style names distinguish the three buildings. Along with the focus on shipbuilding, Sackville therefore offers architectural history and industrial history as separate themes represented at the same centre.

Fort Beauséjour/Cumberland and Its History

Westmorland County is home to Fort Beauséjour/Cumberland, New Brunswick’s only surviving major colonial-era fort; the fort includes a museum. It is also a Parks Canada National Historic Site. Its history includes two sieges: one by the British in 1755 and another by American rebels in 1776. The dates identify two distinct events and the parties involved in each. The fort’s history thus differs both from Shediac’s railway history and from the architectural and industrial associations of the Heritage Centre in Sackville.

New Brunswick in a Wider Context

For broader travel planning in New Brunswick, you can compare other park examples based on their stated sizes, access points, and routes. The approximately 500-metre-long Kellys Beach Boardwalk in Kouchibouguac National Park provides access to Kellys Beach. At Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, there are three main access points to the Ocean Floor; the Ocean Floor (Low Tide) route is 1.9 kilometres long. Here, the approximate length of a boardwalk, the number of access points, and the length of a named route provide different kinds of orientation.

Fundy Trail Provincial Park covers 2,559 hectares and includes a 30-kilometre parkway along New Brunswick’s southern coast, with views of the Bay of Fundy. The park is open seasonally from mid-May to mid-October. For comparison with the shorter, specifically named trails, the relevant details here are the park area, parkway length, and seasonal opening period. This lets you place the additional New Brunswick examples in context according to their respective sizes and themes, without equating them with the historic sites in Westmorland County.

Discover more destinations: Moncton, Dieppe, Beaubassin East, Shediac, Sackville, Melrose, Murray Corner, Cap-Pele, Memramcook.

For the broader travel overview: New Brunswick.