St. Peters Bay is noted for having one of the most beautiful views on the island, as well as its cultural and historical richness. The area contains traces left by the major cultures that have existed on Prince Edward Island over the past ten thousand years, including the first Aboriginal peoples, the Mi'kmaq, French and Acadian Settlers, and Scottish, Irish and English immigrants. It is also where you will find Greenwich National Park, a protected dunes area
St. Peter's Church
Built in 1927 of brick and stone with a cruciform shape. It has a tower and chancel that is thirty feet in length. This beautiful church sits high on a hill above St. Peters Bay . It is one of the first sites you see as you enter St. Peters .
St. Peter's Harbour
St. Peter's Harbour and adjacent lands along the shoreline of the bay were home to the north shore fishing fleet. A prominent fisherman trader, Jean-Francois Morel, is the namesake for today's community of Morell. Jean Pierre Roma operated a substantial fishing business nearby, employing 7 servants, 50 fisherman, 10 chaloupes and 2 horses in 1734. The undisputed fishing capital of its day, 71 Acadians had re-settled here in the years following the deportation, when there were still only 68 English settlers on the entire island.
Acadian Bell
The Acadian bell is the oldest and most cherished French settlement artifact of the Island . It is the chapel bell from the St. Peter's church, which was buried when the English attacked the French in 1745. It was buried in a near by field along with other items from the church.
A farmer who was ploughing his field 113 years later found the Acadian Bell. It is now located in the Rollo Bay church.
Greenwich National Park
Greenwich , located on the eastern side of St. Peter's Bay, is the newest addition to Prince Edward Island National Park . Greenwich became part of the National Park in February of 1998 in an effort to protect and preserve the natural and cultural resources found in the area.
Greenwich is also noted for its cultural and historical richness. The area contains traces left by the major cultures that have existed on Prince Edward Island over the past ten thousand years, including the first Aboriginal peoples, the Mi'kmaq, French and Acadian Settlers, and Scottish, Irish and English immigrants.
The sheltered shorelines of St. Peter's Bay, adjacent to the rich north shore fishing grounds supported one of the island's earliest and largest Acadian settlements from 1720 – 1758. Greenwich National Park was one of several thriving communities flanking the shorelines of the bay. Parks Canada archaeologists are documenting the extent of French settlement within the new Greenwich National Park . The visitor center details the story of Acadian and French settlement of the Greenwich peninsula.
Greenwich is a protected area. Among the most spectacular natural characteristics to be protected at Greenwich are the high, mobile parabolic dunes, and associated concentric, low dune ridges called Gegenwalle, or counter ridges. The area also contains an extensive and fragile coastal dune system, wetlands and various natural habitats in which numerous rare plant species are found. Habitats of the endangered piping plover and the rare pleated woodpecker as well as remnant skeletal forests are evident in the area.
