Pont des Anglais [English Road]

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The chemin des Anglais (English Road) refers to a road leading to Cullens Brook, where several English-speaking households are clustered. Many men in this area naturally became fishing guides, as they spoke the same language as the New England sportsmen who frequented the salmon rivers from the mid-19th century onwards. In “1871 […], the provincial government passed a law authorizing the leasing of salmon rivers for the exclusive use of private clubs. The Bonaventure River was leased from at least 1882 onwards. Exclusive fishing rights ended in 1978 […].”¹

The guides, whether French-speaking or English-speaking, spoke first and foremost the language of the waters and knew how to handle the “pole*.” “They came from all walks of life,”² and these diverse skills made them unbeatable at manoeuvering boats on the Bonaventure. “Some people worked for over 50 years on the river. […] In many cases, they were assigned to specific fishermen.”³

DÉCOUVRIR > tous les lieux-dits de cette ville

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AUDIO

[FRENCH] Interview with Louisette Henry, April 9, 2025.

“When the bridge collapsed in Saint-Elzéar, everyone used to go that way.”

“It was almost like a father-to-son tradition of guiding anglers on the river.” 

Private clubs.

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GLOSSARY

* Polemen (Pôleurs): “A person wielding the ‘pole,’ a long pole used to maneuver the canoe. […] The ‘polemen’ propelled the boat to reach the trenches […]. The master guide is the one located at the front of the canoe.”⁴

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NOTES

¹ Jenny Arsenault, Serge Arsenault and Louise Cyr, Bonaventure se raconte, (Bonaventure : Musée acadien du Québec, 2016), p. 156-157.

² Louisette Henry, story collected by the artist, April 9, 2025.

³ Jenny Arsenault, Serge Arsenault and Louise Cyr, op. cit., p. 167.

⁴ Ibid., p. 169 et 179.

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IMAGE

1. Marie-Claude De Souza, 2026.