The plaque is in a small rest area/parking area across the inlet from the Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge at St. Martins. Beside the plaque is an old landlocked fishing trawler which itself should draw the attention of some. Nearby is an old anchor and also a memorial to local fishermen lost at sea containing the names of three lost fishermen.
It seems that, in the nineteenth century, St. Martins was one of the leading four or five shipbuilding centres in New Brunswick, owing to its location on a small inlet and a ready supply of shipbuilding timber. The industry long gone, the town still has a small harbour, home base of a small fleet of fishing boats.
Note in one of the photos that the fleet in the harbour has no water under it, sitting high and dry. This is a sure sign that St. Martins is on the Bay of Funday, home of the
World's Highest Tides.
From its origins in the late 18th century, the shipbuilding industry profoundly influenced New Brunswick history. Craftsmen in the colony built over 6,000 vessels during the 19th century, a third of the total tonnage produced in British North America. At numerous centres such as Saint John, Moncton, Miramichi and St. Martins, the presence of abundant timber and affordable skilled labour allowed builders to assemble vessels for export, mainly to the United Kingdom. New technologies eventually brought a decline in a commercial industry that had prospered in the province for over a hundred years.
From the CNHS Plaque at the Village