'It has eroded': The lost history of Kent County's Priest Rock - Action News
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New Brunswick

'It has eroded': The lost history of Kent County's Priest Rock

Vandalism and weathering have erased a portion of historic rock carvings near Harcourt in Kent County.

Surviving dynamite and development, the historic carvings of Priest Rock could not withstand vandalism

Priest Rock sits along Route 116 near Harcourt. While many carvings can be found on its surface, the historic ones written by a missionary in the early 1900s are no longer among them. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

Vandalismandweatheringhave erased a portion of historic rock carvings near Harcourtin Kent County.

Butsome arehoping it's not too late to restore a portion of what may be left of writings carved by a missionary over acenturyago.

"It's a shame," saidAntoyneRichard, the retired Kent County district engineer who helped rediscover travel logs that were carved into the boulder by a missionary in the early 1900s.

Father Pacific was a French missionary priest who travelled on foot from farms and First Nations communities preaching as he went.

Using footpaths andtrailways,he covered a large portion ofsouthernNew Brunswick, preaching to farms and First Nations.

The French Jesuit Priest, known as Father Pacific, travelled much of New Brunswick as a missionary preaching to First Nations as well as French and English colonists. (Library of Quebec)

Recordings on a rock

During his travels he chose a massive boulder to record some of his travel times.

"What it said I can remember," Richard said. "Five-dayjourney.Richibucto,Chipman. Slept here. September 15."

Antoyne Richard was a district engineer in Kent County working on expanding Route 116 in 1983 when the large boulder was flipped, revealing the hidden carvings underneath. (Shane Fowler/CBC )

But in the 1930s, that footpath was expanded into a road. Dynamite was used to blast the rock out of the way. It stayed mostly intact during the blast, but was flipped, burying the carvings.

That's where they hid for decades until the road was modernized in 1983 under thesupervisionof Richard.

The rock was rolled once more, and the carvings rediscovered.

Priest Rock sits along Route 116 where the road's expansion has led to the boulder being repeatedly flipped over the last century. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

"I went down to take pictures of what was written on the rock," said Richard. "People around there were telling me that this priest had written a message on it."

"When I went to take a picture of it that message was plain to see," saidRichard. "I photographed it. With a Polaroid camera, of all things."

Former chief of nearby Elsipogtog First Nation, Susan Levi-Peters, says she hopes experts can examine and perhaps restore the lost carvings on the large rock. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

Since taking them,the photo and the carving have been lost to the elements. ThePolaroidto the sun. The carvings to water.

"Ifyou look at the rock today, where is that writing? It cannot be seen because there is other writing on it now and weathering and frost and thaw, it took a layer of rock off," said Richard.

Others have also carved their names into the same rock. Spray paint isprevalent.

Carvings should be restored

"It has eroded," said Susan Levi-Peters, the former chief ofnearbyElsipogtogFirstNation.

"So,we're hoping that maybe some experts can come in, do something to it, to find out like what it's saying."

Levi-Peters says the carvings should be restored and recognized for their place in the province's history.

Vandalism, weathering, and other carvings to the surface of the large stone have resulted in the original missionary carvings to be lost. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

She suspectsthere could even be more carvings to be discovered if the stone is examinedfurther.

Fornowthe stone sits along Route116. Itslocation anditshistory marked by a single small sign placed by Richard titled "Priest Rock."