Note that the info plaques are removed available spring and summer and removed in cooler weather.
Come, visit the community Amos Peck Seaman built. Imagine it bustling with activity as it was back when he reigned as
The Grindstone King of Minudie
In the mid 1800's, Minudie was a thriving, bustling community of about 600 people with railways, wharves, cargo ships, and a store, all thanks to Amos, ‘The Grindstone King’ Seaman. He was an entrepreneur - who built ships, imported and exported goods, and built Nova Scotia’s first steam mill. A philanthropist, he built two churches and a school. He even dabbled as a poet.
But it did not start that way. He started with nothing, worked hard, saved money, studied and built his empire.
Amos Seaman was born January 14th, 1788, to Nathan Seaman and Zena Thomas in Sackville, New Brunswick. At 10, with little education, Amos ran away barefoot, in a leaky canoe to Minudie and became familiar with the sea by working the docks and shipyards. By 1810, Amos and his brother Job built the A. Seaman Shipping Company, trading goods between Nova Scotia, New England and the West Indies. In 1823 Seaman became a tenant on the Minudie estate which had been granted to Joseph Frederic Wallet DesBarres. Working for the DesBarres family, Seaman collected rents and leased all the quarries on the estate. In 1834 Seaman purchased the 7,000-acre estate. He added to it over time, building what may have been the largest estate in the province, partly by building dikes to reclaim 1,500 acres from the sea.
It was the grindstones that made him one of the wealthiest people in Canada. The grindstones were valuable, possibly the most valuable around the world. Every year thousands of high-priced stones were shipped to American markets by Seaman’s Atlantic Grindstone Company, and by other producers who leased quarry lots from him. By 1843 more than 100 men were employed in his quarries and stone factory alone. In 1843, he built the first steam-powered grist mill in Nova Scotia. In 1847, he exported 33,000 stones. With his wealth he managed to travel to the UK and the States. He had an eye for fine things and would import them to Minudie.
Posted coordinates: the school house and 2 churches (also waypoint 3)
Amos never went to school as a child. He wrote in his diary “never went to School until I was old enough to work day time to pay my way for Evening School.” It was at evening school that he met Jane Metcalf, who taught him to read and write. May 12, 1814, he married Jane, whom he would affectionately refer to as his Jinny during their 50-year marriage. Together they had seven sons and four daughters. Not having an education in his youth, it was important to him that his children did. In the early 1850's, Amos Seaman built the Minudie schoolhouse for his children and those of his tenants. His children would go on to attend King’s College in Windsor, and/or finishing schools. The schoolhouse is now the oldest one room school in Nova Scotia and home to Minudie museum.
Amos built a Universalist Church on his land to be used by all denominations. It was completed by the late 1840’s. Amos would teach Sunday school at the church. Since his death the church has been used by Baptist, Methodists, Presbyterians and Universalists.
Catholics wanted to have their own church to practice their faith in. Amos donated land, lumber and helped cover some of the costs to build St Denis Church. It was completed in 1848 with a dedication in 1849. The bells for the two churches and the school house were bought and imported from Ireland by Amos. They differed in size and tone so residents could tell each ring apart.
During the summer these buildings are open to be explored. The school house is now the Minudie museum, containing Seaman family artifacts, family tree and original school desks and furniture. This is free of charge.
Waypoint 1: Amos Thomas Seaman House
This was not Amos Peck Seaman's home, but one owned by his eldest son, Amos Thomas Seaman. It was constructed in 1843. After Amos Thomas’s death, his younger brother Gilbert bought it in 1877. Gilbert also operated the quarries and mine after his father’s death It remained in the Seaman family until recently. Gilbert’s granddaughter, Ruth Symes, passed away and bequeathed it to the Minudie Heritage Association. Soon it will open as a museum, displaying the Seaman family history.
Amos Peck Seaman’s home was the place to be back in the day. In 1837, Amos built his mansion where he and Jane raised eleven children. Their place, had four great rooms, five bedrooms, a modern 40x60 foot kitchen, quarters for six servants, and eight fireplaces. His home was the social center of Eastern Canada, a common place for entertainment. He likely entertained his friends, Sir Charles Tupper, Joseph Howe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow here. Jane loved their home and also the garden she tended. From his mansion, Seaman watched over the community with a paternalistic eye, earning him the title of “king” of Minudie.
Waypoint 2: Minudie Lake Cemetery
Amos Seaman created his final resting place. He imported a linden tree from England, perhaps for its heart-shaped leaves or fragrant flowers. In the lake he placed water lilies.
At the time of his death the British Colonist paper wrote "In him the poor will lose a benefactor, and his deeds of kindness and hospitality will make his memory long cherished by all who knew him." After his death, the community he built faded away due to family fighting. His desire for a fair disbursement of his estate was the downfall of Minudie. The family went to court and fought over it until there was nothing left. A thriving community reduced to nothing, then over time his own home was run down and finally destroyed in a fire.
Waypoint 4 Seaman Quarry
The area of Seaman Quarry, this is an optional waypoint to visit, but still a beautiful view and place to walk the shores of the Bay of Fundy
How to log this virtual
Post a picture with your GPS or a thumbs up at each of the 4 virtual waypoints: schoolhouse, Seaman house, Lake Cemetery and Seaman Quarry. As well, answer the following questions (there is a catch to one, that you will know when your on site, please do not ruin it for others):
Posted coordinates or Virtual Waypoint 3, School and churches
How did Minudie get its name?
Whose head was stolen and why?
One servant had to sole purpose of_____________ .
Why did Amos Seaman build a lake at the cemetery?
Why are the Bay of Fundy tides so high? What impact would this have had on the grindstone business?
Virtual Waypoint 2, house
What does the plaque say?
Virtual Waypoint 3 Lake Cemetery
Who is permitted to remove water from the cemetery lake?
Virtual waypoint 4 Seaman Quarry
(optional) Walk along the shore, can you see signs that this area was once a busy quarry?
Amos Peck Seaman is my great, great, great, great grandfather. Like him, I have an interest in education, travel, entrepreneurship, community and water.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018 This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.