Grand Tracadie Live Cam

History

The story of Grand Tracadie unfolds along the sheltered waters of the Northumberland Strait, where Indigenous Mi’kmaq people established seasonal fishing camps and clam‑digging stations centuries before European contact. The name “Tracadie” derives from the Mi’kmaq word “akatiek,” meaning “place of departure,” reflecting the community’s ancient role as a launching point for canoe routes along the island’s northeastern shore.

French settlers arrived in the mid‑18th century, laying the groundwork for Acadian farms that cultivated salt‑tolerant oats and potatoes in the fertile red‑soil ridges. Stone‑lining techniques, imported from Normandy, created raised mounds—known locally as “marl beds”—to improve drainage in the heavy glacial loam. These early dykelands echo in the strip fields that still border the Tracadie River, and the pattern of long, narrow lots reaching toward the shore remains visible in the patchwork of hedgerows and stone fences.