Stewardship and management

Set on the banks of the Annapolis River, Fort Anne offers visitors a vivid reminder of an era when Europe’s powers battled for supremacy in North America. First fortified by the Scots as early as 1629, the site was later controlled by the French before falling for good to British troops in 1710. It would remain a regular scene of battles until the fall of Quebec in 1759.

Today, the fort – Canada’s first administered National Historic Site – consists of a renovated 1797 officers’ quarters (now a museum) and 1708 stone powder magazine, surrounded by a maze of defensive ditches, banks and bastions known as Vauban-style earthworks. Inside the museum, visitors can learn what this place means to the Mi’kmaq, see centuries-old artefacts, as well as the Heritage Tapestry, a hand-stitched work showing 400 years of history.

Outside, enjoy sweeping views of the Annapolis River on the Perimeter Trail or visit the 300-year-old Garrison Graveyard, where soldiers and civilians have been buried since the 1630s. Interpretive panels throughout the grounds bring the site’s rich history to life.