Nerepis Palisaded Village

There were several major villages on the Wolastoq (St. John River) prior to the arrival of Europeans. Some of these were fortified with wooden palisades and trenched surroundings. These were remarkable features considering the stone and wood technology of the Wolastoqiyik. Their fear of invasion by other First Nations, particularly the Mohawks, led to a development of fortification. There was no known village on the Kingston Peninsula but the closest was the village at the mouth of the Nerepis River. The village was similar to that depicted in the following sketch of Ouigoudi at the mouth of the St. John River.

It is interesting to note the more rounded versions of dwellings verses the conventional teepee within the palisaded village. The larger structures are also noteworthy of an established community. The availability of fish along the Bay of Fundy as well as ice fishing upriver probably meant the villages at Ougoudi and Nerepis were lived in year round.