






 

 |

Monumental Events
From the discovery of Prince Edward Island by Jacques
Cartier through early settlements, colonial government,
waves of European immigration, industry, and early
communication and transportation with the mainland, the
pivotal events in Island history are acknowledged with
commemorative monuments scattered across the province.
The Town of Alberton boasts two historic monuments
commemorating the town’s history. Of special
interest is the “Discovery of Prince Edward
Island” monument commemorating the 400th
anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s landing at Canoe
River (present-day Alberton) in July 1534.
Though it is a fairly small community today, in 1732,
Brudenell was the site of a control base for the Gulf
fisheries and trade with France, Quebec, and the West
Indies. Founded by Jean Pierre Roma, the base at
“Three Rivers” was destroyed after the fall of
Louisbourg in 1745. A monument erected at Brudenell now
marks the site.
In 1764, the British government engaged Captain Samuel
Holland in a systematic survey of their new colony,
Prince Edward Island. The result of his work was the
division of the Island into 67 townships whose boundaries
have left their mark on the construction of Island roads
and land ownership. A plaque at Holland Cove (Rocky
Point) marks this turning point in the history of the land in Prince Edward Island. 
The Abegweit Branch of the United Empire Loyalists have
erected a monument in Summerside to commemorate the
arrival, starting in 1783, of United Empire Loyalists and
disbanded troops who settled on the Island following the
French Revolution.
The arrival of Scottish settlers in Prince Edward Island
is commemorated with a monument at the Selkirk Settlement
in Eldon. Eight hundred settlers arrived at this site in
1803 aboard three ships: the Polly, the Dykes,
and the Oughton.
Cape Traverse boasts two monuments, testaments to the
area’s role in transportation and communication on
the Island. One monument marks the laying of the first
substantial submarine telegraph cable in America in 1852.
A second monument to the ice boat service between Cape
Traverse and Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. Fitted with
runners making it suitable for travel over water and ice,
the Capes Ice Boat Service brought passengers and mails
safely through ice drifts and squalls across the
Northumberland Strait.
Prince Edward Island’s history of land struggles is
acknowledged with a monument located at the Brighton
Compound in Charlottetown. The Brighton Powder Magazine
was built in 1866 when troops were stationed here to
quash the Tenant’s League.
The “Pioneer Fox Farming, 1880–1910”
monument in Alberton commemorates the work of Robert T.
Oulton and Charles Dalton, who were the first to breed
and raise silver and black foxes, and James Gordon and
Robert Tuplin, who perfected the technique and developed
the industry.
Prominent Islanders
Though run-of-the-mill, everyday Islanders may constitute
the very salt of the earth, we have been blessed with
outstanding figures who have played important roles in
the history of local, national, and international
politics, military service, education, religion, and the
arts.
The first governor of St. John’s Island (which was
later to be renamed Prince Edward Island) was Walter
Patterson, in 1769. A plaque at the Fort Amherst Visitor
Centre in Rocky Point commemotrates Patterson and his
efforts in administering the Island, its people and its
land.
Bishop Angus Bernard MacEachern played an important role
in early Atlantic-Canadian spirituality and education. In
1829, MacEachern became the first bishop of Charlottetown
with jurisdiction over Prince Edward Island, New
Brunswick, and the Magdalene Islands. In 1831, he founded
the Island’s first institution of higher learning in
the community St. Andrews.
Freetown-born Jacob Gould Schurman, educator, author,
professor, and ambassador, is remembered with a monument
in his community of origin. Professor Schurman taught at
Acadia, Dalhousie, and Cornell Universities. He became
United States Minister to Greece, Montenegro and China
and ambassador to Germany. He was born in 1854 and died
in 1942.
A plaque mounted on Summerside’s Armoury honours
Charlottetown-born Georgina Pope who, in 1899, was chosen
to superintend Canada’s military nurses in the South
African War. In 1908, she was Canada’s first Nursing
Matron in charge of all Canadian military nurses.
Sir Joseph Pope, K.C.M.G., C.V.D. was private secretary
to Sir John A. Macdonald from 1882 until 1891 and was
knighted in 1912. A plaque commemorating his
accomplishments is erected on the grounds of Province
House.
Sir Louis Henry Davies, Member of federal Parliament
1882–1901 and appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court in 1918, is honoured with a plaque erected on the
outside of the Charlottetown courthouse that bears his
name.
The artist famous for his painting of the Fathers of
Confederation and one of the country’s leading
portrait painters, Robert Harris, began his studies in
Charlottetown. He was to become an original member of the
Royal Academy of Canada. The Confederation Centre Library
is adorned with a plaque honouring his life and legacy.
The community of Lower Bedeque is graced with a monument
commemorating merchant, shipbuilder and statesman, James
Colledge Pope who was three-time premier of Prince Edward
Island. Pope, born in Bedeque in 1826, played an
important role in the Island’s entry into
Confederation.
In New Glasgow, a monument commemorates Honourable David
Laird, founder of the Charlottetown Patriot in
1859. Laird sat in the Island legislature between 1871
and 1873, was Member of the Canadian Parliament and
Minister of the Interior 1876–1881, and was the
first resident Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest
Territories from 1876 until 1881.
As provincial capital, Charlottetown’s numerous
cemeteries contain the gravesites of prominent Island
politicians, including Island Fathers of Confederation
who participated in the discussions leading to
Canada’s nationhood and Prince Edward Island’s
entry into Confederation. The grounds of Province House
National Historic Site are adorned with plaques
commemorating these statesmen:
George Coles (1810–1875). St. Peter’s
Cemetery.
Col. John Hamilton Gray C.M.G (1811–1887). Sherwood
Cemetery.
Thomas Heath Haviland (1822–1895). St. Peter’s
Cemetery.
Andrew Archibald MacDonald (1829–1912).
People’s Cemetery.
Edward Palmer (1809–1889). Sherwood Cemetery.
William Henry Pope (1825–1879). St. John’s
Anglican Cemetery Summerside.
Edward Whelan (1824–1867). St. Dunstan’s
Cemetery.

National Park
| National Historic
Sites | Scenic Heritage
Roads
Museums and
Historic Villages | Historic
Buildings and Churches |
|