Our earliest view - The Lost Valley in 1809

It's no secret that I put great value on the fabulous water colour Comingo produced of Saint John in 1814 (above). Back in 2007 when I started the Lost Valley Blog, I chose it for the Masthead. I think we all agree it's a special painting. Sure it's not photo accurate and the composition is a little bit corny, but it does contain so much that we need to know about those early decades. I have been collecting the finest images of the Valley and the North End available, for use in a documentary film, and what you see in the Blog is just a sampling. Truth be told I have little time to write, and as I'm not on Academic Welfare, my productive labour is interest driven. Many articles are started but get side tracked because of time constraints. For example, last year I got over stimulated and began writing an article entitled "The Valley from the Air - what 1870s photography can reveal" but then I realized those images would work better in a film. Photo reproduction in this Blog is just too restrictive (read - small) to illustrate what I want to explain, and I don't like hosting Blog photos on another server.
.A few months ago I found another water colour even older than the Comingo painting. Rather than post the entire painting, which shows Saint John viewed from above the Reversing Falls gorge, I have cut into the image and show you just the upper left corner. Point #1 is Fort Howe, point #2 is the harbour signal mast on Fort Howe, and point #3 indicates the valley itself. Photography of Portland, N.B. and the Valley of the 1870s shows the valley floor largely cleared of brush. That was done very deliberately to reduce the risk of open fires catching and spreading to houses, warehouses and wharves in Portland. Fire was the bitter enemy of folks in Portland and Saint John and the homes down in the valley.

What I like about this painting, in addition to its vintage (1809) is the fact that it shows the Valley green and almost pristine. Don't get me wrong... I much prefer images of the Valley filled from wall to wall with commerce and industry and families, as it was in my youth. But the 'City Fathers,' in their infinite wisdom, chose to denude the Valley and let Saint John become all sprawl and Mall.