St. Andrews by-the-Sea

When the border was fixed after the American Revolution, Loyalists at Castine in Maine found themselves on the wrong side, so they dismantled their houses, floated them across Passamaquoddy Bay on barges and rebuilt them here in 1783; several of those buildings still stand. The town became a resort in the nineteenth century with the Algonquin hotel above it. Kingsbrae Garden covers eleven hectares on the site of former estates. Whale watching runs from the wharf into the Bay of Fundy for right, humpback and finback whales, and at low tide a gravel bar lets people walk out to Ministers Island.

History

The site's Maliseet-Passamaquoddy name means long gravel bar, and a shell midden at the east end of town built up over 2,000 years of Passamaquoddy life; a French missionary who landed on Saint Andrew's Day gave the present name. Loyalists settled it in 1783 on a street grid by Charles Morris, with thirteen streets named after children of George III, Irish immigrants arrived between 1820 and 1860, and with the Argyll hotel of 1881 and the Algonquin of 1889 on the hill it became a seaside resort for people from Montreal and Boston; the historic district became a National Historic Site in 1995 (Wikipedia, Saint Andrews, New Brunswick).

What's there

• The floated houses - buildings barged from Maine in 1783 and rebuilt.
• Kingsbrae Garden - eleven hectares of gardens on former estate land.
• The whale watching - Fundy trips for right, humpback and finback whales.
• The Algonquin hotel - a resort hotel above the town from 1889.

When to go

June to September for whale trips and the gardens, both seasonal; whales are most reliable July to September. The town is quiet in winter with much closed.

Practical notes

Most attractions close from October to May. Whale sightings are not guaranteed and the North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered with sightings increasingly rare. Fog cancels trips.

Nearby

Ministers Island lies offshore; Campobello is south.

Key facts