Abstract

In 1763, shortly following the last events of the Acadian Expulsion in Nova Scotia, former British privateer Commodore George Walker settled on the tip of Alston Point, Nepisiguit Harbour, in Baie des Chaleurs near modern Bathurst, New Brunswick. From all accounts, Walker carried on a thriving fishing, trading and shipbuilding station at Alston Point until the place was destroyed in 1777. Currently, beach erosion, recreational and other human activities have buried, altered or destroyed much of the Points heritage potential. In 2003, the Province of New Brunswick, the City of Bathurst, and the University of Maine, sponsored a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey and archaeological testing project to verify the Walker connection. In one area, GPR identified an unusually compact buried soil horizon that proved to be cultural. Testing in 2005 identified two cultural levels one of which had mid 18th century ceramics associated with bone food refuse. Combined, the geophysical and archaeological test results appear to have located an undisturbed portion of George Walker's 18th century establishment.