Holiday at the Seaside. Archaeological Perspectives on a 20th-Century Summer Community on the St. Lawrence Estuary (Bic, Quebec)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Historical Archaeology of Neighborhoods and Communities (General Sessions)" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

By the turn of the 20th century, the shores of the St. Lawrence estuary had become prime locations for members of Montreal's English-speaking elite who sought to escape the city's pace of life and unhealthy air. After seaside resorts and hotel complexes served by steamboats, the development of the rail and road networks favored the expansion of small private resorts, and summer communities thus established alongside local French-speaking communities.

Two seasons of the Archaeological Field School of the Université du Québec à Rimouski have focused on a group of chalets on picturesque Cap à l'Orignal, now in Bic National Park. From the early 1920s until their expropriation in the early 1970s for the creation of the park, several of these chalets were occupied by members of an English-speaking family network from an upscale neighborhood of Montreal. This presentation examines the perspectives offered by archaeology and material culture on the experience of these summer vacationers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Historical Archaeology of Neighborhoods and Communities (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology