Saint John in Saint John County, New Brunswick — The Atlantic Provinces (North America)

Partridge Island

L’île Partridge

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2019

1. Partridge Island / l'île Partridge Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

English:
Look toward the mouth of the harbour and you'll see Partridge Island, an official National and Provincial Historic Site. Only 600 metres (654 yards) long by 300 metres (327 yards) wide, the rocky island was home to New Brunswick's first lighthouse (1791), North America's first quarantine station (1785), and the world's first steam-operated fog alarm (1859). It served as a military defence until 1947 and is still a Canadian Coast Guard base. Once home to a fishing community with its own school, today its residents are non-human species such as river otters, raccoons, muskrats, gulls, crows, starlings and salamanders. Many birds stop to rest and feed on the island during spring migration, and some seabirds nest there.

Français:
Regardez en direction de l'embouchure de la darse et voyez l'île Partridge, un lieu historique national et provincial. C'est sur cette île rocheuse, de seulement 600m de longueur et 300 m de largeur, que se trouvait le premier phare (1791), la première station de quarantaine d'Amérique du Nord (1785) et le premier signal de brume à vapeur au monde

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(1859). Elle a servi de lieu de protection militaire jusqu'en 1947 et elle est toujours la base de la Garde côtière canadienne. Ce jadis lieu de résidence d'une communauté de pêcheurs possédant sa propre école n'est aujourd'hui plus habité par l'espèce humaine. On y trouve plutôt des loutres de rivière, des ratons laveurs, des rats musqués, des goélands, des corbeaux, des étourneaux et des salamandres rayées. Plusieurs oiseaux s'y arrêtent pour se reposer et se nourrir durant la migration printanière et certains oiseaux marins font leur nid sur l'île.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 45° 16.348′ N, 66° 3.95′ W. Marker is in Saint John, New Brunswick, in Saint John County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Smythe Street and North Market Wharf, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located along the Harbour Passage Trail walkway, on the south side of the Saint John Hilton hotel, overlooking Saint John Harbour and Partridge Island in the distant background. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Market Square, Saint John NB E2L 4Z6, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Canada’s Original City (a few steps from this marker); Dock Street Generating Station (within shouting distance of this marker);

Marker detail: Aerial view of Partridge Island<br>(<i>City of Saint John in background</i>) image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Aerial view of Partridge Island
(City of Saint John in background)

Oland Family Breweries (about 150 meters away, measured in a direct line); Saint John Harbour Defensive Network (about 150 meters away); Defending the Harbour (about 150 meters away); The Landing of the Loyalists (about 180 meters away); Electrifying the Uptown (about 180 meters away); Scottish Strength (approx. 0.2 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Saint John.

Regarding Partridge Island. When the brigs Leslie Gault with typhus, and Feronia with smallpox, arrived with Irish immigrants in 1830, they performed quarantine on the island. In late June, William Marks and Agnes Murphy, two Irish teenagers, died of small-pox, the first recorded immigrant deaths and burials on the island. When the station closed in 1942, six separate graveyards had been established, with about two thousand burials. About half of these burials are Irish.

Also see . . .
1. Partridge Island Lighthouse. Lighthouse Friends entry:
A committee was appointed by the House of Assembly of the Colony of New Brunswick

Marker detail: Partridge Island<br>(<i>north side view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bob Morgan

3. Marker detail: Partridge Island
(north side view)

in 1787 to find a proper place for a lighthouse at Saint John and to estimate the cost of its construction. The following year, the committee reported that it had selected Partridge Island, situated at the entrance to the inner harbour, as the most eligible site, and believed the lighthouse could be erected for £120. (Submitted on February 22, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Partridge Island Quarantine Station: National Historic Site of Canada. Parks Canada entry (Submitted on February 9, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

3. Robert Foulis. The Canadian Encyclopedia website entry (Submitted on June 5, 2023, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Partridge Island Marker • <i>wide view<br>(island obscured by fog in the distant background)</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2019

4. Partridge Island Marker • wide view
(island obscured by fog in the distant background)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 18, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 235 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 22, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.