Ross Island (New Brunswick)
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 Interactive map of Ross Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bay of Fundy |
| Coordinates | 44°40′09″N 66°44′04″W / 44.66903°N 66.73447°W |
| Area | 372.9[1] ha (921 acres) |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| County | Charlotte |
| Parish | Grand Manan Parish |
Ross Island (previously known as Harbour Island[2][3])is an island in the Grand Manan Parish of Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada in the Bay of Fundy.[4][5][6] It is a tidal island that forms the eastern shore of Grand Harbour on Grand Manan island.[7]
Ross Island was the first part of Grand Manan to be settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1784. From 1879 it was the site of a lighthouse that marked the entrance to Grand Harbour. In 2021 the Nature Trust of New Brunswick purchased the island, which was officially designated the Keiko and Errol Nature Preserve in 2024.
A license signed by the governor of Nova Scotia on 30 December 1783 permitted the United Empire Loyalists John Jones, Thomas Oxnard, Thomas Ross, Peter Jones, and Moses Gerrish, "and others, being fifty families, to occupy during pleasure the Island of Grand Manan, and the small islands adjacent in the fishery, with liberty of cutting frame stuff and timber for building."[8] The five named licensees hoped to receive a grant to the entire island of Grand Manan if they succeeded in attracting fifty families to the island in seven years, but they were not able to achieve this goal.[9] The first settlers, including Moses Gerrish, arrived on Ross Island, then known as Harbour Island, on 6 May 1784 before settling Grand Manan while both Ross and Gerrish maintained homes on the original island.[3][2] Gerrish is buried on Ross Island.[2]
Ross was a mariner from Falmouth, Maine. Upon settling in the area, he began trading with the West Indies and was granted ownership of Ross Island.[8]
