Bouctouche was originally named Tjipogtotjg, a Mi'kmaq word meaning "Great Little Harbour". The region was next settled by brothers Francois LeBlanc and Charles LeBlanc, and brothers Isidore Bastarache and Joseph Bastarache in 1785 as an Acadian community. "La Croix commémorative aux fondateurs de Bouctouche" was unveiled August 29, 1954, to pay tribute to the founders of the town, who first arrived in 1785. It says "We remember François and Hélène LeBlanc; Charlitte and first wife Marie LeBlanc, and his second wife Madeleine ; and Joseph and Marie Bastarache". The stones at the base of the cross indicate the origins of the settlers who came from France, Grand-Pré, Memramcook and Bouctouche. During the 19th century the area also attracted immigrants from Ireland and Scotland among them the forefathers of one of Bouctouche's best-known sons, K.C. Irving. Bouctouche was struck by a tornado on August 6, 1879.
Geography
The town is located at the mouth of the Bouctouche River on the coast of the Northumberland Strait, approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Moncton. It is the first municipality in New Brunswick to adopt a Green Plan for the working of the municipality in 2006.
La Dune de Bouctouche, known by its first inhabitants as the Great Little Harbour, has hiking and cycling trails that are part of the New Brunswick Trail system. There are 12 kilometres of whispering sands making up the dunes easily viewed from a boardwalk along a conservation area known as the Irving Eco Centre. La Dune de Bouctouche consists of a 9.7 km long ridge of sand formed over centuries by the wind and stormy seas. The dune has almost enclosed the bay area over its full length leaving an opening to the bay at its mouth that is a 1.8 km wide opening and the dune is still expanding today.
Le Paysde la Sagouine, based on Antonine Maillet's award-winning bookLa Sagouine, is a theme park filled with Acadian entertainment and history. Their activities include dramatic reproductions of Antonine's plays.
Irving Eco Centre Industrialist Kenneth Colin Irving was born in Bouctouche, many of his businesses, including Kent Homes, maintain operations there and the family is dedicated to protecting the area's natural resources with the Irving Eco Centre and helping to revitalize the town's economy by supporting a variety of local projects.
