Point of Interest
Petit Sault 1841 Blockhouse
Street Address: 14 St-Jean Ave, Edmundston, New Brunswick
The location of the border between New Brunswick and Maine in the Madawaska Region was a subject of a heated dispute during the 1830s, resulting in an event called the Aroostook War. With aim of controlling the strategic junction of the Madawaska and St John Rivers, the British military received permission in 1841 to build a blockhouse at the Petit-Sault. It perched on a rock overlooking both rivers and consisted three floors, the first made of stone and the other two of stout logs, enclosed by a palisade, and with sufficient accommodation for one officer and 50 men. It was destroyed by lightning in August 1855. An accurate reconstruction of the blockhouse on the original site as opened to the public in 2001. It is a provincial historic site marked by a plaque.
