| Located only a few kilometres from Natasquan, Kegaska is the western port of entrance to the Lower North Shore. As the story goes for many of the communities on the Lower North Shore, Kegaska or quegaska has a long and rich historical background. Montagnais amerindian artifacts found in the area confirms a long existence wit this native population. In fact, the name itself describes the setting when the tide level is at it’s highest, allowing easy passage between the island and mainland portions of the community. European establishment to the area began with an Hudson’s Bay Company trading post in 1831.
In the 1850's, Acadian families the Boudreaus, the Harveys, the Bourgeois, the Giassons, the Poiriers, the Gallants and the Deraps (or Bertrands) became the first permanent residents of Kegaska. By the 1870's, isolation, dwindelling natural resources and a probable diphtheria epidemic forced the Acadian population to relocate further westward in larger communities.
The site was resettled by immigrants from Newfoundland. Although the catch has changed from Cod to Crab over the years, descendants of the Foremans, Courts, Kippens, Osbornes, and Stubberts can still be found maintaining a livelihood from the fishing industry.
Kegaska is a village member of the Municipality of the Lower North Shore of the Gulf of Saint-Lawrence.
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