St. Saveur: A Meeting of Nations (2013-2016)

In 1613, a small group of French Jesuits, sailors and settlers arrived at Mount Desert Island, looking for a place to establish a mission and build trade relations with the Wabanaki. At the urging of Wabanaki leader Asticou, the group chose a spot somewhere around Frenchman Bay to establish their new outpost. Less than three months later, the fledgling settlement was destroyed by English colonists from further south. Echoes of these encounters continue to resound today, in Wabanaki communities, in shaping Maine history and identity, and in our understanding of international relations. The first European residents of Frenchman Bay came and went in a very short time. But this episode is part of a much larger story of Wabanaki-French-English interactions in eastern Maine from 1500 until 1762, when English settlers finally established a permanent settlement on Mount Desert Island. The exhibit brought together current Wabanaki perspectives and historic documents to present multiple perspectives on history, and investigated the debate among historians and archaeologists about where the St. Sauveur Mission was actually located.

Learn More: St. Sauveur: A Meeting of Nations Exhibit Catalog