Their chief line of business was in Gaspereau.
Their main market was the West Indies. Many people tried to break their
monopoly but none succeeded. Their business failed due to over-expansion
and the large losses suffered by their Quebec branch.
But, Richibucto was mainly known for
the ships. The famous Richibucto Liverpool Shipyard was located where
the old Post Office is, which was built in 1902. Directly across the
road was the original Sawdust Wharf. A public landing was located off
the shore at Beau-Rivage on the south side of town. The Evangeline,
named after Longfellow`s poem, was a 74 ton schooner built in Richibucto
during the year of 1885. Registered at Chatham, she was owned by K.F.
Burns. The real Evangeline was based on the true life story of Bernadette
LaJeunesse. She searched for her lost love and finally after walking
from New Orleans to Philadelphia; she died and was buried in the city
of brotherly love. It is said her final resting place is overlooked
by the Liberty Bell.
Ships like the Greenock, The Evening
Star and the Charles Stewart Parnell - these ships, and others such
as these, made this town a legend whenever sailors sat down.
The romance of the sea is surely dead,
now that the oceans are crossed in a few days. Years ago, it was weeks
and sometimes months before a port was reached. «picture»
Yes, not only romance, but also the famous
sailor shanties, forecastle songs, and other memorabilia related to
the old-time ships, have gone with their passing. To the ones who do
remember the old days, there was nothing more inspiring than a full-rigged
ship lustily furrowing the green foam. In its movements, there was something
typical of human life and fixate of purpose in the mind of man. For
although one ship sails East and the other West, by the self-same wind
that blows, it’s the set of sails and not the gales which determine
the way she goes. As an old Danish Captain said, "There are no sailors
nowadays, the average so-called sailor of today wouldn’t know the royal
yard of a square-rigger from the binnacle."