Bear River: The Tidal Village on Stilts.

Last week I drove to Bear River, a village located near the Bay of Fundy. My friend Margie, from Ontario, has rented a wonderful place there for a couple of months of R&R.

I'm sure you're aware of Fundy's massive tides, but did you know that rivers that flow into Fundy are greatly affected by those tides ? The Bear River flows into Fundy, but twice every day the rising tide causes the river to flow backwards as the salt water, influenced by the gravitation forces of the sun and moon and the rotation of the Earth. The tides on the Bay of Fundy are semi-diurnal (two high waters and two low waters each day) and because of the shape and location of Fundy, the highest tides in the world are found here.

Due to a lack of suitable flat land, the downtown area was built largely on piers and stilts or on artificially created land held back by retaining walls. The high river tides (7 m) and readily available wood ensured that shipbuilding and lumbering became significant and prosperous industries.

Looking across Bear River at low tide,
toward the house Margie, was renting.

Bear River in more prosperous times.

In its hey day (1890's) Bear River had six shipyards and six lumber mills and a population of 1,200. Many affluent homes were built along the steep hillsides on both sides of the river. It was a "happenin' place".

But the advent of steam engines and steel hulled-boats marked the end of the age of sail and the residents were left with logging as their main source of income.

This is the church in the middle left of the above photo.
A sad, literal, sign of the times.

Today I'm told that the population is 800. I'm not sure where those 800 people are but I would have guessed it to be more like 200 at the most.

Breakfast on the balcony of Margie's place.
Notice that the river is not as low as in the second photo.

Heading over the bridge to the shops.

We check email over breakfast.

The main industry in Bear River now, is tourism. The area is lousy with artists and creative types. There are a couple of nice cafe/restaurants and a lovely gallery store displaying some wonderful art created by those artist/creative types.