History of Basin Head Prince Edward Island

Basin Head received its name from its wide, hollow bowl shaped form, like a basin. For many years before the present harbour at Basin Head was built, fishermen fished off the shore. Most of them had their own shacks to salt and store their fish. Some of the fish was hand-barrowed from the dories and emptied into large fish boxes. They would then gut and put the fish on splitting tables to remove the back bone. After this was completed, the fish was washed, salted, and stored in large puncheons for about two weeks. It was then carefully sun-dried and stored in a dry house. From there some of the fish was hauled to Souris where they would sell it to Matthew and MacLeans.

Later Matthew and MacLean from Souris and a man named Silver, from Halifax and the Gorton Pew Company from Gloucester, Massachusetts came to Basin Head for the fish with vessels. These boats were anchored off shore and the fish was taken out to them.

click to enlarge

In 1937, it was decided to build a harbour and maintain a wharf at Basin Head. The purpose of this was to open a harbour at Basin Head and close the natural harbour, located below Munn’s Road. The dredge Captained by Alexander MacLean, Fairview, worked with many local men to open the new harbour. Percy Coffin hauled water for the dredge from a local spring. Men used teams of horses and scoops for scooping sand and worked ahead of the dredge between the Basin and the shoreline. Please take a look at these aerial photos from 1935 and you can see the opening to the harbour was not yet dug. Much of the sand dune hill east of the harbour was formed by unloading the sand from the scoops.

These men included:

Ray Bruce along with the scooping would haul a truck wagon load of large rocks (which was cleared off the land for years and stored at the back of the farm) over to the Basin every morning.

Work was also done on the wharf by a Quebec crew. Men working on that crew included:

Other workers included;

The harbour was opened in 1938. The harbour was dredged again in 1959. The Cannery was built by the government shortly after the completion of the harbour and wharf and chicken haddie was canned there. Paul Gallant bought the fish at the time and some years later bought the plant as well. This plant employed many local men and women. On the cape was a large cookhouse owned and operated by the Gorton Pew Company. It had divided sleeping quarters for the men and women in the upper level. As many as twenty shacks owned by many of the fishermen were also located on the cape, along with a bunkhouse that housed at least twenty or more people.

In the peak time of fishing at the Basin there were about 25-30 boats. These boats were of many designs from sharp and square sterns to dory’s. One boat that was of particular interest was owned by Wayne Bruce. His boat was nicknamed "the Duck", because of its short squatty shape and design. Once when Wayne was entering the harbour with too much fish in the bow of his boat, his boat capsized outside the run. He hung on to the boat, until James Robertson went out with his boat to rescue him.

A variety of fish were caught from the waters outside Basin Head like cod, hake, haddock, herring, and mackerel. Lobster was fished east and west of Basin Head since there was no rock directly around the area.

Once during a spring high tide, the water was full of herring fish. When the tide subsided there was as much as a foot or more of fish on the shore. They filled even the smelt nets which were set further up in the Basin. Many felt the fish were diseased and it was nature's way of taking care of things. It took the fishermen a long while to clean up the mess afterwards.

One tragedy that did occur happened to George Bruce in 1952. He was working with a crew repairing the wharf, and was the first man to arrive at work that morning. When he started the engine that ran the machine for the pile driver, his sleeve caught in the chain, which had no guard, and his arm was pulled around the sprocket. He remained conscious and managed with help to get to Willard Ching’s. Willard's wife Bertie was a nurse and took him to Souris Hospital. It was necessary for the surgeon Dr. Kassner to amputate his arm above the elbow.

In 1973 the Basin Head Fisheries Museum was built under the direction of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation and was open to the public.

Since then a number of changes have taken place. Boat sheds were built to house fishing boats and larger artifacts as part of the museum exhibits. A box factory was also constructed and wooden boxes were built for a period of time to simulate the designs of boxes used years ago to carry, pack, and ship fish to its destinations. All this enables the Museum to tell the story of the Province’s historic inshore fishery through its displays and artifacts. On site are dioramas illustrating methods and materials, small craft displays, and the restored cannery with its aquariums and coastal ecology exhibits. There is also a lab where the biologists and researchers from the lagoon and area can record, store and complete their research and data. Soon the upper level will also be completed to house a full lobster exhibit.

In 1995-96 huge renovations took place on the site by the Eastern Kings Development Association. This included a board walk which features access to the magnificent "Singing Sands" white sandy beach, gift shops, food, and beach services and a children’s play village. Provincial Parks take care of the grounds. Locals and visitors alike come to enjoy the site, its beauty, the people, our culture, history and heritage. Some decide to buy land here and others take their experiences back to share with others about this fantastic Island.

In the fall of 1998 a public meeting was held by the provincial Department of Technology and Environment and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. From this meeting a committee was formed to get the wheels in motion to having Basin Head Lagoon designated as a Marine Protected Area. The committee was entitled "The Basin Head Lagoon Ecosystem Conservation Committee". This group was put in place to develop a management plan to protect the Basin Head area. The goal is to make Basin Head a Marine Protected Conservation area under the direction of the provincial and federal government legislation. The lagoon contains a unique species of Irish moss that is found nowhere else in the world. This species is much larger than common Irish moss and is free floating and is higher in carrageenan content than common moss giving it significant economic potential. Through the committee biological inventory of the area has been conducted surrounding the Lagoon as well as the streams entering the lagoon. The streams were freed of debris and trees were planted where needed to prevent run off from entering the water system. There are six steps of procedure before an area can be designated. These steps are near completion and designation is expected in late spring of 2002.

The protected Lagoon, the Museum, and the entire Basin Head area with its continuous changes, has become a global attraction.

Compiled by,
Anne Hennessey Garrett.