Ministers Island

Ministers Island is a tidal island just offshore from Saint Andrews, accessible by car across a gravel tidal bar at low tide — but only at low tide. Twice a day, the causeway disappears under several metres of cold Fundy water. The island contains Covenhoven, the summer estate of Sir William Van Horne, builder of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The estate includes Van Horne's grand shingle-style summer cottage, a stone bathhouse at the beach, and the famous circular barn — still standing — which Van Horne built on the theory that circular structures required less building material for the same enclosed volume. The island is managed as a historic site and tours are available. Check the tidal times carefully before visiting.

things to do sight historic
A story
Ministers Island became the summer estate of Sir William Van Horne, the American-born railway magnate who built the Canadian Pacific Railway. Van Horne was an obsessive — he collected paintings, built his own beach, kept a herd of 100 cattle, and had a circular barn built because he believed round barns were more efficient. The island can only be reached by car across the tidal bar, which means your departure time is dictated by the tide tables. Van Horne liked it that way.