Canada Guide
The Maritime Provinces
Partridge Island
Beyond the ferry port – just 1km out in the bay – you'll spy Partridge Island, where the first quarantine station in North America was established in 1785. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the island had accumulated several hospitals and a full complement of medical staff, but they were simply overwhelmed by the flood of Irish immigrants who arrived during and after the Great Irish Famine of the late 1840s. A Celtic cross commemorates the Irish who died here and the island's lighthouse has survived too, but the quarantine station, which was closed in 1938, has all but disappeared. The island is uninhabited now and usually inaccessible, but sometimes there are boat trips here – check with the tourist office.