Description of Historic Place

Caraquet Convent consists of visible ruins of a 2 and 3-storey stone building located along Saint-Pierre-Ouest Boulevard, near the Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens church, in Caraquet. The grounds include a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Heritage Value

Caraquet Convent is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the educational and religious history of Caraquet.

The ruins, statue of the Virgin Mary and grounds of Caraquet Convent represent the importance and growth of religion and education in Caraquet. Construction of the building began in 1870 under Reverend Joseph Pelletier. It opened its doors for the education of young girls in 1874, under the direction of the Congregation of Sisters of the Notre-Dame. A three-storey expansion made of dressed stone was added in 1905 and was the work of noted Acadian architect Nazaire Dugas of Caraquet. A second wing, made of wood and consisting of two storeys, was built on the east side in 1947. The convent stopped teaching in the 1970s, and part of the building was used for community projects. In 1982, the newspaper L'Acadie Nouvelle opened its first offices there. Fire destroyed the building in 1995. The ruins of the central part of the convent are of particular heritage value because the façade’s sawn stone is from the construction of the first stone church in Caraquet, which was built in 1817 and was located to the east of the convent.

Source: Caraquet City Hall, Historic Places files “Couvent de Caraquet”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the ruins of Caraquet Convent include:
- context of the ruins on the original grounds;
- sawn stone of the façade;
- fieldstone of the rear section of the building;
- dressed stone of the eastern and western sections;
- two storeys of the western section;
- one storey of the eastern section;
- openings for the windows and the central door;
- statue of the Virgin Mary in front of the convent.