“As Close To Heaven As They Can Get”: Place, Belonging and Community on Wood Island, New Brunswick

Abstract

This thesis examines the displacement and enduring legacy of the Wood Island community, a small settlement off the coast of Grand Manan, New Brunswick. Depopulated by the 1950s due to shifts in industry and accessibility, Wood Island remains culturally significant to its former residents and their descendants. Through oral history, documentary filmmaking, and traditional historical methods, this project explores how the annual return to the island, now centred on a church service, acts as a site of memory, identity, and heritage. The thesis is paired with a documentary film, The Congregation, and reflects a commitment to accessible, community-focused scholarship. It highlights how spiritual and cultural traditions intersect to maintain connections to place, even as lived memory fades. By centering the voices of Wood Islanders, this research contributes to broader conversations about displacement, land-based identity, and the power of collective memory in shaping community across generations.