New England traders made their way into the basin.  By 1701, there were 33 families (188 people) at Pisiquid.  There were also 3 families at Cobequid, where Mathieu Martin was given a seigneurie in 1689.  By 1707, Cobequid had 17 families (82 people).  Pisiquid was growing, but not as well.  The area developed both farmland and took care of their livestock. 
     Brouillan visited Minas in 1701.  He reported that they had abundant cattle, and that they could export 700-800 hogshead of wheat if they chose to. But they were very independent ... being separated from offical control ... and were used to deciding things for themselves. 
     Villebon, who visited in October 1699, said there wasn’t much cod fishing at Minas, but the tidal streams had shad and gaspereau (alewives).  Gargas has said in 1687/88 that the rivers had shad, trout, gaspereau, and shellfish. [Clark, p. 150]
     The main crops were wheat, rye, peas, and oats.  He mentioned the women spinning and weaving wool and linen.  There was one sawmill and another planned, a windmill, and 7-8 water gristmills. [Clark, p. 151]

     The following is an account of a 1720 visit to Minas is given. 
                The area is Minas, called Les Minas by the French due to the copper mines. 
                Grand Pre is 30 leagues by sea and 22 by land ENE of Port Royal.  The harbor is wild
                and insecure.  Vessels (usually less than 40-50 tons) going there to trade use the tide
                (which rises 9-10 fathoms) to go up the creek (Dead Dyke) to the town of Grand Pre. 
                When the tide goes out, they are left on a 5-6 mile bed of mud.  There is a meadow
                (Grand Pre Dyke), stretching for 4 leagues that produces very good wheat and peas.  It
                could produce enough grain for a much larger area.  The scattered houses of the town are
                on high ground along the 2 “Cricks”, which run between it and the meadow.  There are a
                lot of cattle in the area.  They catch white porpoises (a type of fish) and make oil from its
                blubber (yielding good profits).  There are more people in that area than at Port Royal;
                and Indians also inhabit the area.  They have never had any force near them to “bridle”
                them.  “All orders sent to them, if not suiting to their humors, are scoffed and laughed at,
                and they put themselves upon the footing of obeying no government.”  They won’t
                submit easily to any terms unless a sizable force (300-400) landed and a Fort or redoubt
                of earth was built (with 4 cannons, upon their beloved meadow, big enough to hold 150
                men).  Because of the harbor, the vessel bringing them would have to be 12 miles from
                the fort.  Any ships that rode in with the tide would be left on a bed of mud for 16 hours
                (and subject to burning). [Herbin, 53]
 

     In 1720, Mascarene referred to Grand Pre as a meadow of 4 leagues, damned in from the tide, producing very good wheat and peas.  The settlement was composed of scattered houses, on high ground between 2 creeks (on kind of a peninsula).  This was the center of Minas until the exile in 1755.  Grand Pre had about 200 houses.  Two settlements (Melanson and Gaspereau) were along the Gaspereau. [Clark, p. 215]
     From a Jan. 1747 report at Grand Pre (when British forces were destroyed), there 
were “low houses framed of timber and their chimney framed with the building of wood 
andlined with clay except the fireplace below.”  There were a few stone houses in the 
middle of town.  The only buildings were homes, barns, stables, churches, and mills. [Clark, p. 217]
     The population in 1750 was 2450 [Pereau Creek - 50, Habitant Creek - 75, 
Canard - 750, Cornwallis River - 100, Grand Pre - 1350, Gaspereau - 125; from Morris]. 
 [Clark, p. 216]

The area was emptied in 1755 with the deportations.  A list of the men deported from the Grand Pre area was compiled by Dudley LeBlanc in The Acadian Miracle.