2 Best Sights in Dorchester and Memramcook, The Acadian Coast

This museum is composed of several buildings: Keillor House, an early Regency stone house built in 1813 that contains thousands of artifacts relating to mid-19th-century life and where docents are in costume; Coach House, which contains a fascinating collection of artifacts from the Dorchester Penitentiary; and, just a minute away on foot, the St. James Museum, set in a former church and containing the Beachkirk Collection of equipment used in the manufacturing of textiles, including antique looms; you can sometimes see demonstrations of carding, spinning, and weaving, and there are also blacksmiths' and carpenters' tools. Special events are held at the museum throughout the year.

Overlooking the marshes, fields, and birding sites of the lovely Memramcook Valley, this historic site commemorates the survival of the Acadians and celebrates the renaissance of Acadian culture. This monument is in the original home of St. Joseph's College, the first degree-granting French-language institution in Atlantic Canada, founded by Father Camille Lefebvre in 1864. A permanent interactive exhibit, "Reflections of a Journey—the Odyssey of the Acadian People," provides an excellent overview. Guided tours are available.