On November 17,1907, construction started on Wakeham Hall , the building that was to become the focal point for the community of Wakeham for many years.
Located in the very heart of the city of Gaspé lies an ancient burial ground -- the O`Hara Cemetery. No one knows for certain how many souls were interred in this place.
Judge Thompson House is a superb survivor from the first half of the nineteenth century. Overlooking Gerard D. Levesque Boulevard in New Carlisle, the house dates back to c.1838 and is one of the oldest buildings on this part of the Gaspé Coast.
Building the First Metis Beach Lighthouse
In 1873, R. Cameronof Lancaster,Ontario, was given the contract to build a lighthouse at Metis. Cameronhad already built several lighthouses along the St. Lawrence near the Thousand Islands. The construction cost $3518 of which the lighting and accessories accounted for $1425. The lighthouse was built of wood and was 40 feet high. The Light tower was made of iron and 7 1/2 feet in diameter.
One of the premier architectural landmarks along the south Gaspe Coast (Route 132) is the remarkable LeGrand Hotel in Port Daniel. Built in 1899 by Alfred Dumaresq LeGrand, a native of Jersey, the building is as fine an example of Second Empire architecture as one is likely to find in this part of the world.
The son of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the promoter of the Suez and Panama canals, Frenchman Jacques de Lesseps (1885-1927) was a pioneer of aviation. Second pilot to cross the English Channel in 1910, and the first to fly over Montreal and Toronto (in the same year), this hero was decorated for his endeavors during World War I (1914-1918).
As World War I was beginning, in October 1914; Gaspé Bay became the rallying point for an imposing Canadian war fleet on its way to Europe. The fleet included 31 ships, 31,300 men, 8,000 horses and some thirty trucks. At the end of the War, during the summer of 1919, the Cenotaph was erected in Gaspé to commemorate the 38 Gaspesians who fell on the field of honour.
