[PHOTO] Bronze Bust of Napoleon III, Farmer's Bank of Rustico

[rfmcdonald]

This bronze bust of Napoleon III was an unlikely centrepiece of the Farmer's Bank of Rustico collection. Napoleon III was a patron of the Acadians, it turns out.

The Bust of Napoleon III unveiled at a special ceremony held at St. Augustine's Church on Saturday, April 3, 2004, with representation of the various groups present as part of the 400th Anniversary Celebrations. The Bust of Napoleon III was commissioned by the Friends of the Farmers' Bank of Rustico and Les Amis de Napoleon III of Paris, France. Napoleon was a Patron of the Acadians of Rustico whose financial donations helped construct the Farmers' Bank, a Carilion of Bells for St. Augustine's Church, and a set of French books on the topics of Science, Agriculture and Economics.

The local priest, Georges-Antoine Belcourt, played a particularly important role.

Robert Pichette's 1998 Napoléon III, L’Acadie et le Canada français goes into book-length detail, while Francis C. Blanchard's French-language article at the website of the Musée acadien is shorter.