In the XVII century, Acadia referred to the first French colony in America located on the eastern seaboard of Canada. The Acadians arrived in 1604 from the French regions of Poitou, Charentes and Britanny.

Acadia became an English colony and took the name Nova Scotia in 1713. The massive arrival of English colonists and the refusal to swear allegiance to England, led to the expulsion of 10,000 French Acadians toward the United States, Quebec and France between 1755 and 1762.

In 1773, the marquis Perusse des Cars initiated a program to resettle the Acadians in the Poitou region, particularly in Archigny (Vienne - 86). Each family received a farm, animals and 17 hectares (42.5 acres) of land to clear.

Being livestock raisers more than farmers, a large portion of the Acadians took the path back toward Louisiana (Cajuns) in 1775. In 1776, there remained only 136 Acadians in Poitou in 28 households having a dozen family names.

After the Revolution, in 1793, the Acadians found themselves owners of their land which they could then sell in order to buy more profitable properties. This led to a geographical dispersion of the colony.

Today there remain 38 houses which sheltered Acadian families in the city of Archigny. One of them now houses a museum.