Description of Historic Place

Jean-Pierre Roma at Three Rivers National Historic Site of Canada is situated at the tip of Brudenell Point, on the eastern shore of Prince Edward Island. The site comprises remains of the 18th-century Roma settlement, the remains of unidentified 19th-century buildings, and the remains of the 19th-century Macdonald commercial establishment. Designation refers to the hectare of land upon which the remains of the Roma settlement, as well as the 19th-century resources, survive.

Heritage Value

Jean-Pierre Roma at Three Rivers was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1933. The reason for designation, as derived from the 1998 plaque text, is:
- it is the site where, in 1732, Jean-Pierre Roma began a settlement and trading post that enhanced the French presence on Prince Edward Island (Île Saint-Jean).

In 1732, Jean-Pierre Roma established a French fishing and trading settlement that included nine substantial buildings and gardens. The settlement survived until 1745 when New Englanders destroyed it after the siege of Louisbourg. Following the cession of the island to Great Britain, Brudenell Point was uninhabited until early in the 19th century. It was owned by absentee landlords, who leased it to different individuals, principally the Macdonalds, who operated a commercial and boat building business on the point.

Sources : Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Submission Report and Minutes, October 2006.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this site include:

- the remains, both above ground and below ground, which date to the era of the Roma settlement and derived from: the storage cellar, the company house, the blacksmith shop, the house for company employees and strangers, the trash pit, the ice house, and unidentified buildings;
- the remains, both above ground and below ground, which date to the era of nineteenth century settlement in association with the British presence, and derived from nonidentified buildings;
- the remains, both above ground and below ground, which date to the era of nineteenth century settlement in association with the Macdonald commercial establishment, as the ones that derived from the Macdonald store;
- the relationship between the site, the Brudenell and Montague Rivers, and the sea.