Village Thibodeau (Poplar Grove)
At the Shaw farm in Poplar Grove, site of former Acadian Village Thibodeau, descendents of Acadian and Planter families who farmed the same land consecutively for well over 300 years worked together in 2013 on an archaeological dig that unearthed Acadian and Planter relics. Pierre Thibodeau arrived in this area in 1690 and, while some of some of the Thibodeau family left for Isle St. Jean (PEI) before the deportation of 1755, it is believed that others of his family farmed here until the 1755 expulsion.
While buildings in most Acadian communities were torched by the British at the time of the Expulsion to prevent Acadians from returning, in this area some buildings were spared and eventually became the first homes of a number of Planter families, including the original Shaw Planter family.
In 1760, five years after the expulsion of the Acadians, Rhode Island Planter Arnold Shaw arrived at what appears to have formerly been Village Thibodeau and seven generations of his family have farmed there since. Oral tradition is that in 1760, when the Shaws arrived, there was a structure on the land that they called the old French house. The Shaw family built a larger home around the French house rather than demolish the structure.
In 1985, Dick Thibodeau, using a 1756 map, located and identified Village Thibodeau, the land from which his direct ancestor, Alexis Thibodeau, had been deported and sent to Philadelphia. This is the site of a 2013 archaeological dig that brought two families, the Shaws and the Thibodeaus, together around a shared history that spans more than three centuries.
Other farmers in the former Newport Township area have reported, over time, unearthing a number of artifacts, including buried gold coins. The lands around the Avon River and its tributaries have an elevated potential for archaeological resources, due to the former presence of Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Planter inhabitants. Our museum looks forward to hearing of any other historical artifacts uncovered or discovered in this area to add to our limited knowledge about the Acadians who farmed here for about 75 years.
While buildings in most Acadian communities were torched by the British at the time of the Expulsion to prevent Acadians from returning, in this area some buildings were spared and eventually became the first homes of a number of Planter families, including the original Shaw Planter family.
In 1760, five years after the expulsion of the Acadians, Rhode Island Planter Arnold Shaw arrived at what appears to have formerly been Village Thibodeau and seven generations of his family have farmed there since. Oral tradition is that in 1760, when the Shaws arrived, there was a structure on the land that they called the old French house. The Shaw family built a larger home around the French house rather than demolish the structure.
In 1985, Dick Thibodeau, using a 1756 map, located and identified Village Thibodeau, the land from which his direct ancestor, Alexis Thibodeau, had been deported and sent to Philadelphia. This is the site of a 2013 archaeological dig that brought two families, the Shaws and the Thibodeaus, together around a shared history that spans more than three centuries.
Other farmers in the former Newport Township area have reported, over time, unearthing a number of artifacts, including buried gold coins. The lands around the Avon River and its tributaries have an elevated potential for archaeological resources, due to the former presence of Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Planter inhabitants. Our museum looks forward to hearing of any other historical artifacts uncovered or discovered in this area to add to our limited knowledge about the Acadians who farmed here for about 75 years.