Casco Bay Island

Casco Bay Island
NOAA chart of Casco Bay Island
Interactive map of Casco Bay Island
Geography
LocationBay of Fundy
Coordinates44°57′20″N 66°55′55″W / 44.95556°N 66.93194°W / 44.95556; -66.93194
Area37[1] acres (15 ha)
Highest elevation26 m (85 ft)[2]
Administration
Canada
ProvinceNew Brunswick
CountyCharlotte

Casco Bay Island (formerly Case's Bay Island[3] or Casco Island[a]) is a private island located in Passamaquoddy Bay, between Campobello Island and Deer Island, in New Brunswick, Canada.[5] The island is approximately 41 acres in size at the mean high tide line.[6] Found at 44°57'20" North and 66°55'55" West.[7]

In July 1835, four youths drowned trying to reach Casco Bay Island.[8]

W. F. Ganong noted that the "Green Island" referenced in Mitchell's 1764 Ms. Field Book appears not to have referred to the modern Green Island, but was likely a reference to Casco Bay Island given its described coordinates.[9] They were further tied together by the 1870 Geological Survey.[10][11] Although Baillie's 1832 "Account of the Province of New Brunswick" considered them separate.[12]

In 1771, Casco Bay Island was claimed by William Owen alongside Campobello and Sandy Island.[13] In April 1786, Charles Morris, of Halifax, claimed to have purchased at a Sheriff's Sale the entirety of Casco Bay Island, Head Harbour Island and some thousands of acres on Campobello, and sold the same lands to Gillam Butler who later sold them for £2500 to his colleague Thomas Storrow who worked with him at John Fraser & Co Merchants, but later bought it back for £2000.[14] Lady Owen, gifted Casco Bay Island to Chief Justice John Campbell Allen.[15]

As of 1839, the island was one of four belonging to the Campobello Mill and Manufacturing Company.[16]

A 1916 effort to rent out the island for pasture.

It is steep on its eastern side, and ledges run 300m off its northern and southwestern edges.[17]

In 1875, a fishing weir was licensed off the island to Wellington Clyne.[18]

In August 1895, William Conley, Jr. and Elmer Richardson constructed a herring weir at Casco Bay Island.[19]

In 1909, a sailor estimated to be in his thirties came to the Bay of Fundy with a schooner and crew of 15 men feigning interest in lobster fishing but drawing the attention of authorities who noted its lack of activity and cargo. When a rowboat was launched to Casco Island with men bearing shovels and mattocks, Customs officials followed it from a distance believing they intended to dispose of a corpse or dig up illicit goods to smuggle, unaware the schooner had sent ashore a geologist, mining engineer and civil engineer as part of a scientific expedition out of Galveston, Texas seeking the treasure of privateer Jean Lafitte.[20]

Lithic artifacts have been recovered from Casco Bay Island's marsh on the north end, lying between two bedrock-core tree-covered knolls.[21]

It was one of four islands studied in 1997 for the impact of sea kayaking on the Bay of Fundy environment.[1] It has been the subject of subtidal graduate studies.[22]

From 2005–2013, the island was listed for sale ($1.4 million in summer 2013).[23]

Author Michael Strong condemned the approval of a salmon weir at Tinkers Island given its proximity to the harbour seal colony at Sandy Island and similar seals at Casco Bay Island, which would necessitate acoustic seal deterrents disruptive to the minke whales and harbour porpoises that traversed the site.[24]

The NB Power submarine power cable between Campobello Island and Leonardville, New Brunswick relays at Casco Bay Island.[25]

Notes

  1. ↑ The name was officially changed in 1970.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Oxley, Anne C.Irving; Brown, Robert D. (January 2003). "Sustainability of wilderness sea kayaking in the Bay of Fundy, Canada". Ocean & Coastal Management. 46 (1–2): 189–197. Bibcode:2003OCM....46..189O. doi:10.1016/S0964-5691(02)00127-8.
  2. ↑ "ATL106 - Instructions nautiques du Canada - Gulf of Maine et Baie de Fundy" (PDF). p. 65.
  3. ↑ Baillie, Thomas (1832). An account of the province of New Brunswick. Image 145. London: Printed for J.G. and F. Rivington. p. 121 – via Canadiana.
  4. ↑ "Casco Bay Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Alcock, F.J. (1949). "The Isles of Fundy". Canadian Geographical Journal. 39 (3) – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ "Casco Bay Island". Private Islands Inc.
  7. ↑ "Map of Casco Bay Island, New Brunswick, Island - Canada Geographical Names withapr Maps".
  8. ↑ The Weekly observer : : Vol. VIII, No. 3 (July 21, 1835)
  9. ↑ Ganong, William F. (1896). Place-Nomenclature of New Brunswick. Royal Society of Canada. pp. 238 (original text), 69 (digitized copy).
  10. ↑ Collections of the New Brunswick Historical Society, Volumes 1-3, The Society, 1894, p187
  11. ↑ General Index to the Reports of Progress, 1863 to 1884. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. 1900. pp. 106, 207.
  12. ↑ Baillie, Thomas (1832). An account of the province of New Brunswick. London: Printed for J.G. and F. Rivington – via Canadiana.
  13. ↑ Collections of the New Brunswick Historical Society. St. John, N.B.: New Brunswick Historical Society. 1894. pp. 214 (original text), 424 (web-digitized text).
  14. ↑ Saint Croix Courier, St. Stephen, NB July 5, 1894 GLIMPSES OF THE PAST Contributions to the History of Charlotte County and the Border Towns., https://carensecord.ca/locations/NewBrunswick/Glimpses/CXXIII.html
  15. ↑ s:Campobello, An Historical Sketch, p.25
  16. ↑ "Campobello Mill and Manufacturing Company, New Brunswick". Image 9. 1839 – via Canadiana.
  17. ↑ Sailing Directions for Nova Scotia: The Bay of Fundy and Breton Island (9th ed.). Washington: U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office. 1952.
  18. ↑ "Statement of Licenses issue for Fishing Weirs or Traps in the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick". Sessional Papers of the Dominion of Canada, No.77. 1876. p. 8 – via Canadiana.
  19. ↑ "PROVINCIAL - Charlotte Co". The St. John Weekly Sun. Vol. 18, no. 33. 1895-08-14. p. 10 – via Canadiana. Wm. Conley, jr., and Elmer Richardson have finished building a herring weir at Casco Bay Island.
  20. ↑ "THE SEASON OF THE TREASURE HUNT IS ON; Searchers for Buried Loot of Pirates Follow the First Signs of Spring Weather -- Some Famous Treasure Spots". The New York Times. 17 April 1910.
  21. ↑ Black, David W. (2018). “...gathering pebbles on a boundless shore...” — The Rum Beach Site and Intertidal Archaeology in the Canadian Quoddy Region. University of New Brunswick Libraries.
  22. ↑ Buzeta, M.-I.; Singh, R.; Young-Lai, S. (2003). Identification of Significant Marine and Coastal Areas in the Bay of Fundy (PDF) (Report). St. Andrews, New Brunswick: Oceans and Coastal Management Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada: St. Andrew's Biological Station. ISSN 0706-6473.
  23. ↑ "You Can Have an Island of Your Own" (PDF). Portland Monthly Magazine. 2013-06-12. p. 185.
  24. ↑ Strong, Michael (2013). Tales and Rants from the Shore to the Offshore. Lulu Press Inc. ISBN 9781312619494.
  25. ↑ Previsic, Mirko; Polagye, Brian; Bedard, Roger (2006-06-10). "System Level Design, Performance, Cost and Economic Assessment - New Brunswick Head Harbour Passage Tidal In-Stream Power Plant" (PDF). EPRI.
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