Legacy of Faith
This magnificent stone church took 32 years to build. Large
granite blocks were shipped 120 miles by train from Shelburne.
Ox teams then hauled them to this site where they were
painstakingly cut and laid by hand, one row per year
(1910-1942).
There are upwards of 8000 blocks of granite and several tonnes of
cement in the outside walls. The inside walls required 96 tonnes
of plaster, of which two coats were applied over wooden laths.
With Acadian ingenuity, the last coat was roughed up with a
wooden trowel and scored to simulate stone. This had to be
completed before the plaster hardened, limiting this operation to
20 minutes!
Saint Bernard Church is a living example of what a small group of
dedicated farmers, fishermen and lumbermen were able to
accomplish in spite of having very few resources.