History of Quispamsis

The original inhabitants were the proud Maliseet First Nation, part of the great Algonquin Federation. The name “Quispamsis” was translated from the Maliseet language and means “little lake,” representing present-day Ritchie Lake.

In 1998, Quispamsis amalgamated with the former Village of Gondola Point and a portion of the area formerly known as Wells.

The early years

Quispamsis is bordered by two rivers, the Kennebecasis River and the Hammond River.  These two rivers were the main travel routes used initially by the First Nations inhabitants, and later by the first European settlers.

Settlers were slow in coming to this area and much of the land in the 1500’s and early 1700’s was associated with Seigniories from Quebec who were granted tracts of land.  In 1689, during the French colonial period, a Seigniory, a title and authority over a particular section of land was granted to a Pierre Chesnet sieur de Breuil.  This land grant consisted of the territory on the south shore of the Kennebecasis River between what is now Meenan’s Cove and Hampton. 

Six years later, in 1695 another grant was issued to Sieur de Plenne.  This land was to the west of the earlier land grant which was issued to Pierre Chesnet Sieur de Breuil and consisted of the remaining territory of what is present day Quispamsis.  In later years the land was reissued to residents who settled in the area. 

English settlement in the Kennebecasis Valley began after the Seven Years War, but it was the coming of the Loyalists in 1783 that greatly increased the population of the Kennebecasis Valley. Many received land grants.

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