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Gaspe Quick Facts

The first people in Gaspe were the Micmac tribes.

In 1534 Jacques Cartier’s Ship landed at Gaspe Bay to take shelter from a storm at sea. He claimed the land for King Francis I of France.

There was a possibility of earlier landings by fishermen and whalers from numerous countries but no records have been found.

For the next 200 years there were no permanent settlements in Gaspe.

Around 1742 there was a French settlement at the head of Gaspe Bay, but in 1758 a British raid burned the settlement down and forced the settlers back to France or deeper into Quebec.

Early English settlers came soon after the French and Indian War ended in 1762. There were two main settlements - one in Gaspe Bay and one in Perce. These people were merchants, fishermen, whalers, and a small number of bailiffs.

In 1784 approximately 500-600 loyalists came to Gaspe Peninsula, settling mainly in Douglastown and New Carlisle.

In 1789 Bishop Charles Inglis visited Gaspe. At that time there was no place of worship in Gaspe.

The First Protestant minister in Gaspe was Reverend John Suddard in 1819.

The first Sheriff of the District of Gaspe was Thomas Mann.

The First court on the Gaspe Coast was created by Governor Frederick Haldimand in 1779. He appointed Felix O’Hara as the first judge.

There was a famine on the Gaspe Coast in the winter of 1816-1817.

The three rivers in Gaspe Bay are the Dartmouth, York and St. John.

Will be adding more facts soon so please visit again.

If you have any quick facts to add please email me at parobert@telusplanet.net