By Kristina Inrig
A group of residents on Brier Island has formed a new organization to promote Joshua Slocum. Slocum was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He lived on Brier Island in his youth before setting out to sea.
The Joshua Slocum Society will be setting up its headquarters in a historic fish house on the island. The “Slocum Boot Shop” is a provincially designated heritage site. It represents the cobbler shop once owned by Slocum’s father. When Joshua was a boy, he worked at the shop with his father. One of the priorities for the new society will be to recreate a 19th century cobbler display. During open house events this summer, visitors can step back in time and imagine what it would have been like to enter the working cobbler shop of the past.
The group is also working on a Slocum Map for Brier Island that showcases the important sites referenced by Slocum and other historians who have studied his past.
We hope this will be an opportunity to celebrate an important historical aspect of our community.
If you would like to learn more about our plans or to volunteer, please contact joshuaslocumsociety@gmail.com
This article appears in the April 2026 issue of PASSAGES. Subscribe or log in to read the full issue and explore our archive.