THE ACADIAN VILLAGE - Our History
Listed on National Registry for the Preservation of Historical Landmarks.
The Acadian Village was built by the Heritage Vivant, our Living Heritage Society of Van Buren.
The land on which it was built was donated by Mr. & Mrs. Charles Ayotte of Van Buren-Keegan, a local farmer.
The society relied on money raising projects, donations from private citizens, both in money and in labor, several small federal grants and the generosity of local governments and organizations for funds necessary to complete the project. People from Van Buren, Hamlin, Cyr Plantation and Grand Isle have been and are involved in maintaining the Village. Four years of labor was furnished by CETA and ACAP workers.
The first building was moved onto the site in February of 1975 and the Village opened July 1, 1976. In time to be listed as one of the Top 55 Independent Day National Event for the bicentennial year. It was also name the State of Maine's "Best Bicentennial Project" and given a citation by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
The Acadian Village is registered in the National Register of Historic Places in Washington D.C. and has been recognized as a Historic National Landmark. It is one of the largest historical sites in Maine.
THE ACADIANS - Our Heritage
The Acadians were people from France who settled on Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia, in the 16-17th century. In 1755 they were deported by the English Government to all points of North America and Canada. The Acadians who settled in the Saint John Valley had settled in St. Anne Des Pays Bas, Fredericton. When the Loyalists chased them off their land once more, they made their way up the St. John River and came to settle in St. David, in 1785.
Welcome to our Website, we hope you enjoy the information throughout our home on the Web. We have tried to make this site bilingual whenever possible. We hope you can visit our Village sometime in the near future, learn abour our roots and see how we developed into the friendly, warm and sincere people that we are today!