Tignish

     Gerald Handrahan was born in the year 1907 in Christopher's Cross on his families farm. Gerald then pursued his education at St. Dunstan's College where is received his BA Degree. Soon after he returned back to the Tignish community.

     Alec Shea was born in 1903, into a family with amazing musical talent. Alec worked in many different positions in his younger years such as farming, fishing, delivering the mail, and he was once even a tailor's representative.

     Henri Gaudet was a true hero here in the community of Tignish. Henri was born in 1932 and he was the third child of one of the original Acadian families from Tignish. He had many accomplishments throughout his life and a drive for his passions that could inspire anyone.

     Tignish proved how strong of a community they were when they were able to recover from the disastrous incident known as "The Great Fire of Tignish." The fire started at around 1:30pm in Mr. Kinch's Carriage Shop on September 1, 1896.

     February 21, 1932 is a day that will always be remembered here in Tignish. This is the tragic day that train NO. 33 was on route when they slammed into train NO. 211 as they were stalled in a 13 foot cutting. The accident happened at 1:30am during a severe winter snow storm. The location was at Handrahan's Cutting, which was one and a half miles from the Tignish terminal.

     The Tignish Regional High School was built in 1958 with the main thanks to the M.L.A. Hubert Gaudet and because of the support by people such as the Sisters of Notre Dame. The school was built opposite of the St. Simon & St. Jude Church.

     The school officially opened on January 29, 1960. It held classrooms, labratories, auditorium, and a staff room. The first principle was Sr. Elizabeth Mahar (C.N.D., B.A., B.E.D.).

     The Dalton School in Tignish provided many people in the community with the education they needed to make a living for themselves. The man that made all this possible was Sir Charles Dalton. Dalton graciously donated a total of $45,000.00 towards the construction of the school!

     The church of St. Simon & St. Jude is a thing of beauty. It's construction began to be in the works in 1857, and it was built between the years of 1859-1860. The entire build was guided by Rev. Peter McIntyre. There were 300 families living in Tignish at this time. The St. Simon & St. Jude Church can be seen from around the community; it being 100 feet long by 62 feet high, and it's magnificent steeple of 185 feet high was used as a beacon for the fishermen and to reach towards the heavens.

     In 1801 the first church in the community of Tignish was built by the Acadians. It was made of logs and was located in "The Green." The church's measurements were 20 feet by 25 feet.

     The first church in Tignish was truly a remarkable thing. Even though there was no priest, the community would gather faithfully every Sunday morning, to pray, sing, and hear the Gospel together. It was in operation for around 20 years.