A Harbour for the King

For two and a half centuries Grand Harbour has been at the centre of Island life on Grand Manan.

A Harbour for the King is the story of a courageous group of United Empire Loyalists from Maine who made their home on an island in the wide entrance to the Bay of Fundy. Their homesteading skills served them well as they settled around the shores of a large, shallow, harbour. They rapidly progressed from rustic shelters to fully framed houses and barns, and from subsistence provisioning to the business of fishing.

Their descendants rose to the opportunities of the smoked herring and lobster canning industries. With the continuing strength and values of their ancestors, the people of the Harbour developed an on-going community of strong souls who survived fires, shipwrecks, economic downturns, and wipe-out storms like the Saxby Gale and the Groundhog Day Gale.

Wendy Dathan lifts up the story of Grand Harbour’s resilient people, who with a rich heritage and will to survive, have always recovered and made their Island home a stronger and better place to live.

Wendy Dathan was Curator of the Grand Manan Museum from 1989 to 1999.

She is the author of four previous books, including Swallowtail Calling: A Naturalist Dreams of Grand Manan Island. She has lived on the Island since 1988.