Saint-Pierre — Capone's Whisky Plot

Your journey begins on the Quai de la Roncière, the main port quay of Saint-Pierre, a hub of maritime activity since the 18th century. Named in homage to Admiral Jean-Baptiste de la Roncière le Noury, a naval commander in the region between 1836 and 1907, this spot was the historical departure point for Prohibition convoys to the United States in the 1920s. It was here, at the heart of Saint-Pierre, that whisky transited before being clandestinely shipped. The historic free port of this French overseas collectivity played a key role in the local economy and alcohol smuggling.

Continue towards the Customs Buildings, established on the Quai de la Douane since 1882. These neoclassical structures, typical of late 19th-century French overseas customs services, were the nerve center of alcohol smuggling during American Prohibition between 1920 and 1933. In Saint-Pierre, illicit cargoes were transshipped under the watchful, or complicit, eyes of agents. The history of Prohibition in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is etched into these stones, witnesses to transatlantic traffic.

The Promenade du Front de Mer, developed in 1925 along the port, offers a unique perspective on the past. Connecting the Quai de la Roncière to Anse à Henry over 1.2 km, it was the silent witness to bootlegger ships carrying whisky to the USA in the 1920s. Observing the fishing sheds built between 1900 and 1920, you can imagine the frantic activity that once reigned. This walk in Saint-Pierre is an immersion into the classified maritime heritage of the archipelago, where each wave tells a story of smuggling.

Next, reach the Place du Général de Gaulle, the historical heart of Saint-Pierre since the 19th century. Formerly Place du Marché, it was renamed in 1945 after the Liberation. Dominated by the Saint-Pierre Church, built in 1891 in a Neo-Romanesque style and classified as a Historic Monument in 1994, this square was a strategic meeting point. The stained-glass windows of the parish church, inaugurated in 1903, commemorate the local fishing history, a vital sector that sometimes served as a discreet cover for illicit Prohibition activities.

Your quest concludes at the Musée de l'Arche de la Mer, opened in 1989 in a former 19th-century boat shed near the port. This classified building, essential to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon's maritime heritage, displays artifacts from fishing and the illicit trade of Prohibition (1920-1933). Here you'll find tangible evidence of the extent of whisky trafficking and the role of this French overseas collectivity in that tumultuous period. This interactive visit will have allowed you to retrace the history of Prohibition in Saint-Pierre, from its bustling quays to its administrative buildings, understanding how a small archipelago became a major player in an international conspiracy.