History of Tracadie, New Brunswick, Canada

The origin of the name Tracadie is a derivative from the mikmak word Telagadik which means in the native language, a camping place. The actual location of Tracadie is when the Mikmak people used to camp while on fishing and hunting expeditions. tracadienb.ca

The location was first settled in 1784 by ACADIANS who had either avoided the deportation or who had since returned, followed shortly thereafter by English-speaking settlers. thecanadianencylopedia.ca

The origin of leprosy in Tracadie is rather obscure although we know that the first victim of leprosy, Mrs Ursule Landry, died in her home in Tracadie in 1828.

In 1844, the disease took such proportions that the health office, named to that effect, ordered the sequestration of the sick on Sheldrake Island near Chatham. The lepers were quarantined in an old building that had already been used to quarantine people. Most of the time, they were left to fend for themselves.

In 1849, thanks to the numerous efforts of parish priest François Xavier Lafrance, the first lazaret was constructed in Tracadie where the sick were transferred.

In 1868, the Religieuses hospitalières de St-Joseph arrived in order to help the miserable lepers...

The nuns took care of the lepers during 97 years, without ever becoming sick with the disease. Three hundred and twenty seven lepers were treated in New Brunswick.

One year after the last leper at the lazaretto died in 1964, the institution closed its doors indefinitely.
musee-tracadie.com