After the British captured Port Royal in 1690, Count Frontenac, Governor of Quebec, appointed Sieur de Villebon to relocate the capital to a safer location along the Saint John River. Villebon selected a strategic site at the mouth of the Nashwaak River, where he built a fortified settlement with four bastions. Originally named Fort St. Joseph, it became commonly known as Fort Nashwaak.

This new capital allowed for stronger alliances with Indigenous allies and served as a key base for launching raids into New England.

 

​

THE 1696 ASSAULT ON FORT NASHWAAK
As Fort Nashwaak became a staging area for French raids, the British sought to eliminate it. In October 1696, an expedition led by Colonel Hawthorne and Major Church arrived to lay siege to the fort. The British forces landed three cannons and built earthworks — on the very spot where this motel stands today. However, French commander Villebon had been warned of the attack and reinforced his defenses in advance.

 

The ensuing artillery battle lasted two days. Realizing that a prolonged siege was impractical so late in the season, the British withdrew, suffering 8 casualties and 17 wounded, while the French had 1 killed and 2 wounded.

By 1698, Fort Nashwaak was abandoned in favor of a new fort at the mouth of the Saint John River.

​​

​

THE MEANING OF "NASHWAAK"

The word Nashwaak comes from the Maliseet language and means
“slow current”.