Thursday, August 8, 2019

Prince Edward Island


Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island, which in french is Île-du-Prince-Édouard) which is 
why all the signs have PEI and IPE.  It is the smallest province of Canada 
in both land area and population, but it is the most densely populated. PEI became a 
British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. 
Its capital is Charlottetown. 





I knew it was going to be great when our first point of interest had a Presbyterian Church, a wonderful view of the ocean, flowers (or flowers on the potatoes, but still very pretty) and to top it off, a dog!!!  The dog's name is Frankie, and she is posing for a picture just across the road!




The Confederation Bridge, as seen in the top. center, left of this picture, spans the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait.  It links Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada.  This bridge took four years to build and it spans 8 miles making it the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water. 


Summerside


The Prince Edward Railway was established in 1871.  By 1874 there were 70 stations across the island, including an open-ended “terminal” station about a mile north of the Summerside harbor.  A track ran down to the waterfront where the railcars met ships to load and unload freight and passengers.  By 1878 this spur was replaced with a loop through town and a new 3 story station.  
Being close to the water the station became polluted with refuse washed underneath by the high tides, forcing railway authorities in 1891 to move it to a site closer to Water Street.  In 1907 a 216 foot long brick freight shed was built replacing the previous one that was destroyed in the “Great Fire of 1906”
The PEI railway was absorbed into the Canadian National railway system in 1919 and Summerside continued to be a busy terminal.  The last train passed through town in 1989.  All that remains of the railway now is the 1927 staton and the original railway bed, which has been transformed into a section of the Confederation Trail for hikers and bikers to enjoy. 





Sights along the Central Coastal Drive




French River is one of PEI's most picturesque fishing villages. The combination of farm and fishing is so prevalent here on the island.  The settlement was referred to as Yankee Village because the area was used by American fishing vessels whose crews would buy supplies from an American merchant established here.







Anne of Green Gables


We first stopped at an Anne of Green Gables tourist spot.  It had a museum, Liv's Whispering Lane, and a carriage ride with "Matthew".






We thought this Yellow Jacket nest was cool buried in the ground.





As we continue on along the Central
Coastal Drive to
seek out all things Anne,
 we take in some more island scenes.




We stopped in New London to see the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, 
the author of the Anne of Green Gables Series.



As we continue on to seek out the Anne of Green Gables house, we happen on some more beautiful scenes.  The water view in this picture is of the  Gulf of St Lawrence which flows into the Atlantic Ocean, this gulf is the world’s largest estuary.  We are between North Rustico and Cavendish.  North Rustico is one of PEI’s oldest Acadian settlements




 This building was the old schoolhouse, Blemont School, where LM Montgomery taught.  Below she is pictured with her class in 1896















Green Gables Heritage Place
Green Gables, located in Cavendish in the Prince Edward Island National Park, is the the site which inspired the setting for L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables.






The grounds around the house were beautiful!


Pics of the inside of the house



















Charlottetown

The beautiful City of Charlottetown is located on the south shore of Prince Edward Island, just off the eastern shore of Canada, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, separated from the mainland by the Northumberland Strait. Charlottetown is the capital city of Prince Edward Island, and is Canada’s “Birthplace of Confederation”, after the historic 1864 Charlottetown Conference that led to Confederation. 

The only thing I knew about Prince Edward Island was it was the setting for Anne of Green Gables.  After walking around Charlottetown, I learned how important this island has been to Canada's history.




The Charlottetown Conference
The three Maritime colonies of Great Britain; Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, had long considered the possibility of union.  By the early 1860’s, however there was sufficient concern over an American attack after the conclusion of the American Civil War (1861-1865), that the colonies began to feel the need to draw closer together.  At the same time, Britain was pressuring the colonies for union based on the premise that this would reduce their economic and military dependency on the mother country.  As well, the ever increasing public debt created by railway construction was placing tremendous burdens not only on the Maritime colonies, but also on Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec). It was not actually an overwhelming desire for a new nation, but a combination of mutually-threatening circumstances that opened the door to the creation of the Canadian Confederation.

By the summer of 1864, the Maritime colonies had agreed to meet to discuss union.  The Canadas, suffering from a political deadlock that was making effective government virtually impossible, asked to participate in the meetings.  When the Maritimes agreed to allow the Canadas to present a proposal for a wider British North American union, the meeting was set for Thursday, September 1, 1864, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.  On the day following the opening of the conference the Canadian delegation, led by John Alexander MacDonald and Georges Etienne Cartier, presented their plan.  The main features of their proposal were:
  1. Continued loyalty to the British Crown through membership in the British Empire 
  2. A strong central government within a federal union with the provinces retaining control over their own affairs and other powers resting with the federal government  
  3. Representation in a central government through an appointed upper house and an elected lower house.
After many days of argument, discussions, and debate the Canadian delegation put forth such a convincing presentation that their proposals had carried the day.  The Maritime colonies, which had all but abandoned their quest for union, pledged their support for the new plan for the British North American federation.  The Charlottetown Conference was adjourned on September 7, 1864 to be reconvened in Quebec City on October 10, 1864 for the “Ironing out’ of the remaining details.

Following the Quebec Conference of 1864, delegates from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the united Canadas met in London, England, throughout the fall and winter of 1866 to prepare the passage of the British North America Act through British Parliament.  On March 29, 1867, the Act was signed into law and Canada became a nation.  Prince Edward joined in 1873.


There were twenty-three official delegates to the Charlottetown Conference in 1864.  In addition to the 23 delegates, Major Bernard, Secretary to the Attorney-General, Canada West, Mr Charles Drinkwater, Private Secretary to the Attorney General, Canada West, and William H Lee, Clerk of the Executive Council.














This is William Henry Pope, Prince Edward Island’s Colonial Secretary.  He is shown here being rowed out to welcome the delegates from the united Province  of Canada (Quebec and Ontario) arriving on board the SS Queen Victoria to attend the Charlottetown Conference 





In 1867, this was the Bank of Prince Edward Island.


At the meeting of 23 delegates at the Charlottetown Conference, two men had the exact same name, John Hamilton Gray.  One from Prince Edward Island the other from New Brunswick.  Both believed in a confederation, both were pro railway and both had active careers in the military.


St Dunston's Basilica




We stayed at the Shipwright Inn.


The Shipwright Inn is an elegant Victorian home built in 1865 by the accomplished Charlottetown shipbuilder, James Phillips Douse.  In keeping with its shipbuilding heritage, the Shipwright Inn emphasizes a nautical theme. A selection of period antiques and artwork have been carefully collected. The china has a rope insignia (circa 1810) on it and must have looked extravagant on the captain’s table of a clipper ship. There is a Parlor in which to relax surrounded by decorative moldings and carved marble fireplace.  The books and artifacts relate to the sea. All bedrooms have polished pine floors, some having been converted from ship’s planking by the home’s builder and first owner. 



We left Charlottetown for the first time to drive the Eastern Shore Drive.  We had to stop and get a picture of the manse for the Presbyterian Church pictured below.  The sign beside the manse read, "Music at the Manse."  What a fun building!



Throughout the island we have noticed that the older churches are 
predominantly Presbyterian.  The second most often is 
Catholic.  I assume the Catholic is from the French influence 
and the Presbyterian from the Scottish influence.  There are so 
many churches on this island it is difficult to fathom a population 
that can support them.



The Hillsborough River is the largest on the island and flows into Charlottetown.

The town of Midgell located on St Peter's Bay


We headed towards Greenwich, where the sea dunes are spectacular.  When we parked, we discovered this van.  They have stickers from everywhere.  Johnny Cash would be proud to have this van!!  Now see if you can stop humming it..."I've been everywhere..."
Scenes from our hike to the dunes.








These dunes are far enough inland that sand accumulates and erodes more slowly.  
The less wind-blown environment allows plants unsuited to growth on shifting sand to survive. 







To get to the dunes we walk over a floating boardwalk.



















The Lighthouse Tour

East Point Lighthouse





East Point Lighthouse is situated on the extreme eastern end of Prince Edward Island where the mighty tides of the St Lawrence and Northumberland Strait meet to create a show of nature's force.    This 64 foot octagonal wooden tower was built in 1867.  It has moved several times due to poor positioning of the light originally, then due to erosion. It has been in its present location since 1908. 





Souris East Lighthouse

Built in 1880, this white and red square tapered wooden tower stands 14.3 meters above the cliff on Knight Point.  The "Souris Light" is a historic symbol of Souris and area.  In 1991, Frandk McIntosh retired from the Souris East Lighthouse as the last lighthouse keeper on PEI.








After visiting Souris, we sought a place to stay.  Due to my exceptional navigational efforts, we ended back up where we started, and ended heading back to Charlottetown for a night of passed out bliss.  We got to the hotel room and we were gone to la-la land by 8pm.


Point Prim Lighthouse

Point Prim, PEI's oldest lighthouse, marks the entrance to Hillsborough Bay, at the outer 
approaches to Charlottetown Harbour on the southern side of the island.  The 6o foot tall 
brick conical tower, painted white, has been in service since 1845.







Wood Islands Lighthouse

Built in 1876 and finished by a local farmer, this lighthouse is 54 feet tall 
with a 20 foot square tower attached to a two story light keeper's dwelling.  
Erosion required the structure be moved in 2009.

Ferry leaving for Nova Scotia




















If you look closely, you will see that the geese and the ducks are completely segregated.  
It looked like they were about to have a standoff!

Cape Bear Lighthouse

The Cape Bear lighthouse was built near the Cape Bear Point in 1881 to aid the fishery and transportation plying the Northumberland strait.  The light is 22.6m above sea level.  The Marconi Wireless Station was constructed in 1905 to communicate with the icebreakers, Stanley and Minto, which linked the Island with the Mainland.  CGS Minto was one of the Government of Canada's first icebreakers.   She was modeled after CGS StanleyCanada's fist effective icebreaker but was slightly longer and more powerful. Like her predecessor, her primary winter duties were keeping Prince Edward Island connected to the mainland—one of the conditions under which the province had entered Confederation. 
On April 14, 1912, Marconi Operator, Thomas Bartlett, received the "first in Canada" distress call from the Titanic after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic with the loss of some 1520 lives.











Erosion is so bad here, the crack is splitting the road in two.






Panmure Head Lighthouse

In 1853, Panmure Head Lighthouse became PEI's first wooden 
lighthouse and the first octagonal one to be built on the
 Island.  It was built on the northeast shore at the entrance
 to Cardigan Bay and Georgetown Harbor to alert ships of the
 dangerous shoal that was responsible for past shipwrecks.  





We went to the beach where there were crowds of people.  We put our toes in the water.  It felt as if someone filled the bathtub with cold water and then added several bags of ice.  It truly amazed us how many people were in the water and enjoying themselves.


Skmaqn-Port-La-Joye-Fort Amherst

Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst is a National Historic Site located in Rocky Point, Prince Edward Island.
This location has the double distinction of hosting one of the first Acadian settlements in present-day Prince Edward Island, as well as the first military fortification on the island while under control of France as well as the first military fortification on the island while under control of Britain.
From 1720 to 1770 Port-la-Joye, later named Fort Amherst, served as the seat of government and port of entry for settlers to the island while under both French and British control. As such, it played an important role as a colonial outpost in the French-British struggle for dominance in North America.
The additional Mi’kmaq word means “the waiting place”, and is thought to originate between 1725 and 1758, "when Mi’kmaq and French leaders met annually at the site to renew their relationship and military alliance."

This is what is left of the fort.


There has been an aboriginal presence here for at least ten thousand years.  The Mi'kmaq became allies and important trading partners with the French in the 1600's and later sided with the French against the British. The formal relationship between the French and the Mi'kmaq was acknowledged and fostered at Port la-Joye, the place the Mi'kmaq called "Kuntal Kwesawe'kl" (rocky point), during annual gift ceremonies.  These ceremonies took place from 1726 until 1745.  


In 1720, three hundred men, women, and children were brought from France to settle on Ile Saint Jean by Louis Hyancinthe Castel, Comte de Saint-Pierre, who was courtier of Louis XV.  These farmers, fisherman, and tradesmen, who were soon joined by settlers from Acadia, established Port-la-Joye, one of the Island's first permanent European settlements and the administrative center for the colony.  With a harbor that was large, sheltered and easy to defend, this was a good location for the capital.  The colony had great potential-good farmland, a rich fishery and a short sail to Luisbourg and other French centers.




Michael Hache-Gallant Anne Cormier were the first Acadians to join the French colonists at Port-la-Joye.  They arrived in 1720 from Beaubassin with four of the their children.  By 1730, eight Gallant children owned properties here and the Gallant family formed the core of the civilian community at Port-la-Joye.  Michel earned his living in various ways including as a ship captain who transported supplies and passengers between the Island and Ile Royale(Cape Breton Island).  Today there are many Gallant descendents on Prince Edward Island and around the world.






These canoes are made birch hulls, cedar planking, black spruce and other materials to make it light to carry over land for distances.

Victoria Harbor
Red sand beaches








This ends our tour of Prince Edward Island.  We did enjoy our stay here.  We find it somewhat ironic that we left Georgia to escape the heat, and the heat found us here.  PEI was having record hear from the heatwave that seems to be going to areas not used to heat at this time.  Even though it was hot, though, the air did not feel as heavy.  I feel so blessed to being able to enjoy the wonders of this world God has given us.

1 comment:

  1. This looks like such a beautiful place to visit! I enjoyed learning about PEI from your blog. Other than the heat wave, it looks idyllic!

    ReplyDelete