Kegaska

What to KNOW

The village of Kegaska is located at the western entrance of the Lower North Shore. Kegaska was built along the shore of two bays and an island connected by bridge. The name Kegaska comes from the Innu word quegasca. This may refer to the shortcut and easy passage at high tide between the mainland and the islands.

Archaeological artifacts attest to early Aboriginal presence in the area. In 1831, the Hudson’s Bay Company held a salmon-fishing and trading post at the mouth of the Kegaska River. In the early 1850s, Acadian families from the Magdelen Islands settled in Kegaska. They left in the 1870s, possible due to a diphtheria epidemic. In 1855, English-speaking settler Samuel Foreman arrived from Nova Scotia. He was joined by a number of Newfoundland families, who later moved away. Today’s families mostly descend from English-speaking families who arrived from Anticosti in the late 19th century. While the community once depended on cod, crab is presently the main catch.