Formal Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Building Structure or Land

Heritage Value

Connaigre Bay Lookout has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Harbour Breton due to its aesthetic and historic value.

Facing westward, the Connaigre Bay Lookout provides a scenic view of the rugged coastal landscape of Connaigre Bay and the Connaigre Peninsula. Both get their name from the nearby resettled community of Great Harbour, previously called Connaigre and listed as Cap Negre in a 1686 census of the French population in the area. When looking out over the ocean from the Lookout, Great Harbour is located around the headland to the right. Although the community was resettled around 1954 under the provincial government’s “Centralization Programme,” fishermen still fish the waters of Connaigre Bay as they have for centuries.

Great Harbour had a strong connection with Harbour Breton, as residents relied on the community for many of its public services and general supplies. They would reach Harbour Breton by crossing the bay to Landing Cove, located just below Connaigre Bay Lookout. A well-beaten path led from Landing Cove to Harbour Breton. Ethel Bond, born June 3, 1904, was a well-known mail carrier from Great Harbour. She brought mail between Great Harbour and Harbour Breton by crossing the bay by dory to Landing Cove, walking to the post office in Harbour Breton, and returning by the same route to Great Harbour.

Source: Town of Harbour Breton Regular Council Meeting Motion #23-058:D, November 7, 2023.

Character Defining Elements

All those elements which represent the heritage value of Connaigre Bay Lookout, including:
– unobstructed view planes of Connaigre Bay and the Connaigre Peninsula;
– continued public access to Connaigre Bay Lookout.

Community

Harbour Breton

Municipality

Town of Harbour Breton

Civic Address

Route 360

Construction (circa)

1686 - 1954