National Historic Site of Canada

Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada

Port Royal, Nova Scotia

Also known as Port-Royal

General view of Port-Royal showing the illustration of 17th-century function arrangements through the spatial relationship of buildings and landscape features, 1991.

General view of Port-Royal showing the illustration of 17th-century function arrangements through the spatial relationship of buildings and landscape features, 1991.

Photo: Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, J.P. Jérôme

Built
1939
Recognized
1923
By
Government of Canada

The register’s text, word for word

Description

Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada consists of a group of wooden buildings within a stockade, erected as a historic reconstruction of an early 17th-century French fort. The habitation is located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin opposite Goat Island.

Heritage value

Port-Royal was declared a national historic site to commemorate:

  • the legacy of Port-Royal, French culture, commerce and colonization manifest in North America, 1605-1613,
  • the experiences of Mi'kmaq and French colonists, 1605-1613
  • the replica of the Habitation as a milestone in the Canadian heritage movement.

The heritage value of Port-Royal National Historic Site resides in the reconstructed buildings as an illustration of an early attempt at French colonization and as an example of an early twentieth-century approach to heritage conservation. Port-Royal National Historic Site was constructed in 1939.

SourceHSMBC Minutes, 1994; Commemorative Integrity Statement, 1997.

Character‑defining elements

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

  • the grouping of structures around an inner courtyard within a stockade,
  • the rectangular, two-storey massing of the buildings with high peaked roofs,
  • the design believed to be typical of 17th-century rural French architecture,
  • the wooden construction materials,
  • the craftsmanship and construction techniques replicating 17th-century rural French building techniques, including interior furnishings,
  • the illustration of 17th-century functional arrangements through the spatial relationship of buildings and landscape features,
  • the well, pathways and other man-made landscape features,
  • the siting between mountains and shore on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin with sheltered anchorage opposite Goat Island,
  • the viewplanes from the basin's entrance to the river mouth at the opposite end of the basin.

End of the register’s text

Location

53 Historic Lane, Port Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada

44.71140° N, 65.60978° W

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From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.