Description of Historic Place

The Danish Immigrant Lot is situated on Main New Denmark Road in New Denmark, Victoria County. The site includes the grounds, a smaller replica of the ‘Immigrant House’, the New Denmark Memorial Museum, a barn, a 1940 stone monument to early settlers, a Provincial Historic Site designation plaque mounted on stone and early settlers' grave sites.

Heritage Value

The Danish Immigrant Lot is designated a Provincial Historic Site for being the location of early Danish settlement in New Brunswick. The place is a testimony to the courage and endurance of the Danes who in 1872 and 1873 settled the area that was to become the community of New Denmark.

In the 1870s, as a consequence of famine and war in Europe, many Danes immigrated to New Brunswick, encouraged by New Brunswick’s Free Grants Act of 1872 and the promise of 100 acres of good farmland for each male over 18, plus payment for the first 2 acres of each grant cleared. The original 29 settlers to this site arrived at their granted land on June 19, 1872. Combined, their 100 acre lots covered 20 square miles of forested hillside. On their arrival they found a government built “Immigrant House” or dormitory that was used by the 10 families until they could survey, clear land and build their own homes. In August of 1872, four or five additional families followed, and in 1873 about 75 more Danish settlers joined the community. The Danish Immigrant Lot is a testimony to the resilience and strength of these early settlers in northern New Brunswick. Not only did the original 29 Danish settlers have to clear and build in the immense forested wilderness of the upper Saint John River Valley, they had to do so in the context of language and cultural barriers. The New Denmark Memorial Museum and adjacent barn contain a collection of farm equipment and artefacts relating to the early settlement. Today, New Denmark is said to be the largest Danish community in Canada and has held the Danish Immigrant Lot in trust for more than 130 years.

The grounds were the site of agricultural development for the early settlers and some of the agricultural fields are still visible from the lot today. Graves of early Danish settlers are also located on the site.

The Danish Immigrants Lot also has value as a commemorative site. In 1940, a stone monument was erected to honour these early settlers. A plaque mounted on stone commemorating the 2005 designation of the Danish Immigrant Lot as a Provincial Historic Site was unveiled in 2006.

Source: Department Wellness Culture and Sport, Heritage Branch, Site File # 1008

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements of the Danish Immigrant Lot include:
- location as site of first Danish settlement in New Brunswick;
- existing view planes to the agricultural landscape;
- stone monument erected in 1940 honouring the early pioneers;
- plaque commemorating Provincial Historic Site designation;
- smaller replica of the Immigrant House;
- early settlers' grave sites;
- the collection of historical and interpretive artefacts located in the museum and barn.