This island, located at the eastern end of the village of Bas-Caraquet, was founded around 1820 by families from Caraquet interested in the geographical position of the place and the abundance of its natural resources.

One of the island’s first residents, Marcel LeClerc, left his name to “Marcel’s Point” at the southeastern tip of the island, which offers the most beautiful sunrises and an unobstructed view of Shippagan and Lamèque Island.

In the 1880s, the railway built in the Acadian Peninsula almost ended there; the developers wanted to transform Pointe à Marcel into a gigantic seaport. This project ended differently when the economic interests of Shippagan merchants succeeded in completing the first phase of the train there. Rumor also has it that Pokesudie was in competition with Belledune when it came time to build a seaport in the early 1960s, but this remains just a legend.

A Bridge from Elsewhere
You may not know it, but the bridge that crosses the small channel leading into Pokesudie is a bridge that once served the Moncton-Dieppe area on Main Street. The original two-section bridge was dismantled in the fall of 1978, and one of the sections was transported to Pokesudie and has been serving its purpose ever since.

Finally, who in our generation hasn’t walked around the island via the “mysterious path” whose origin is little known, except that it was supposedly built by the army during the Second World War and that the military refused to give the reason for its construction.

I give the residents of Pokesudie a high rating for their kindness, their sense of humor, and what I consider the most beautiful accent on the Peninsula. Hearing the late Marianne Lanteigne or Lazare LeClerc speak, I cherish their magnificent accents as some of the fondest memories of my career as a Member of Parliament.

Let’s at least change course at Pokesudie this summer!

Bernard Thériault, historian