A village north east of Antigonish and a harbour opening on George's
Bay,
five miles west of Canso Causeway on Trans Canada Highway.
There have been various spellings - Bouche, Boucher, Bouchet and Bushee,
and various explanations for the name. One version is that it
is derived from
the French bouche (blocked or closed) because the harbour entrance
is almost
closed by an island. Another tradition is that Captain Francois Boucher
took
refuge there in 1759. Before 1785 John and Paul Bushee were living
near the
harbour as was the DeCoast or De Cost family. In 1811 the following
who were
already living at "Harbour au Bouchee" were given grants of land by
the Crown -
Philistine, John Baptist and James De Coast, Bernard Benwaugh (Benois)
and
Paul Bushee, Charles LeBlanc and John Baptist Melon and George Minette.
The small group of original Acadian settlers were joined by some French
settlers
from Arichat and in the early days of the 19th century by some Irish
families.
There were thirty families when Bishop Plessis of Quebec paid an official
visit
in 1812, and more than one hundred families in 1858 when a parish was
created to
serve the area. There is a tradition that in 1790 there was a
tiny chapel at Havre
Boucher. In 1816 the chapel was replaced by another and the first
school started
by Father Manseau. On December 1, 1858, Havre Boucher became
a separate parish
with Father Hugh MacDonald serving as the first pastor. On June
30, 1861 Bishop
MacIntyre of Charlottetown laid the cornerstone of the new Church at
Havre Boucher.
St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church was constructed in 1916 and a convent
(Immaculate Conception) of the Sisters of Charity built in 1890.
Neil Arbuckle was teaching fifteen pupils at "Harbour au Bouchet" in
1829. By 1876
the district was so populous that two separate school sections were
carved out but
were reunited to Havre Boucher in 1952.
There was a postal way office in 1855 and in 1868 Edmund Corbett was
postmaster.
A new post office building was completed August 10, 1964.
The harbour was important for fishing and by 1818 some small fishing
vessels were
being built by people from Arichat. There is some lobster and
scallop harvesting.
Population in 1956 was 307.
HAVRE BOUCHER BROOK, Antigonish County
A brook which flows north into Havre Boucher.
HAVRE ISLAND, Antigonish County
An island in Georges Bay, at entrance to Havre Boucher, named because
of its position.