Fort Edward National Historic Site

The BlockhouseStep inside a historic military blockhouse from the mid-1700s, where creaking floorboards, original graffiti and musket slits in the walls evoke the lives of soldiers once stationed here. Take a stroll along the grassy earthworks - the scene of conflict in the tumultuous 18th century. The struggle for control of North America during the age of empire still resonates at Fort Edward National Historic Site.The historic earthworks of Fort Edward make for a relaxing afternoon of exploring. Picnic on a scenic hilltop, walk the perimeter trail, then duck into the nearly 300-year-old blockhouse to see where soldiers were stationed in the 1700s.National Historic SiteA national historic site since 1921, the Blockhouse is the oldest surviving structure of its kind in Canada and one of the few remaining 18th-century structures in Nova Scotia. The Blockhouse is all that remains of historic Fort Edward, connecting present-day Windsor to the richness of Canadian history.Fort Edward was constructed in June 1750 to secure the overland route between Annapolis Royal, the old capital of Nova Scotia, and the new capital at Halifax, founded in 1749. The British colonial officials also intended the Fort to assert government authority in the Piziquid area, one of the centres of Acadian settlement in the province. As well, Mi'kmaq frequently travelled through the area following the two rivers - the Avon and the St. Croix - that met below the hill on which the fort was constructed.