Written by Marlene Campbell and researched and edited by Jean MacKay
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – This year marks the 150th anniversary of Prince Edward Island entering Canadian Confederation. Although Charlottetown is the birthplace of Canada, the Island, for reasons of its own, did not rush into the union. During Canadian Heritage Week, Feb. 20 to 27, this story below looks back at 1873 Summerside.
There are many ways to mark heritage week including visiting a historic site, taking in a historic cultural performance, learning the story behind a family heirloom, making a meal from a long-time family recipe or reading stories such as this.
1873 Summerside
This July 1 marks the 150th anniversary of P.E.I. entering Canadian Confederation. Many 1873 Islanders saw the entry as a defeat – forced on them by the railway debacle that quickly strained the Colonial Government coffers.
The decades prior to Confederation were tumultuous years of debate on P.E.I. Even though Britain was finding the Island a financial burden and pushing the colony to join Canada, many Islanders saw little reason to give up their independence and identity that stemmed from isolation. Various parts of the colony were enjoying rapid growth, and some Islanders knew prosperity. Summerside, an unplanned village, was a perfect example.
The Queen’s Wharf, built in 1842, and the shipbuilding that later followed, instigated the growth of the settlement on the shoreline marsh of the property of United Empire Loyalist, Daniel Green and his sons. The building of Water Street in 1851 made Summerside accessible by land from Read’s Corner in the east and the county seat of St. Eleanors in the west.
Rapid growth continued around “the wharf” and by 1873, the settlement, now known as Summerside, was thought to have the possibility of outstripping Charlottetown in a few short years. The industrial centre was expanding to the east with such establishments as Hall’s Manufacturing, the forge of George Bishop, the George Doull furniture factory, and numerous warehouses.
Shipyards were busy turning out sailing ships, and the harbour saw extensive traffic as ships loaded the harvest of land and sea. Farmers had learned to rebuild depleted sandy soil with manure and mussel mud, resulting in surplus produce. Oats, hay, barley, straw, potatoes, cattle, horses, and oysters were some of the commodities Summerside shippers were selling to the Eastern Seaboard, the West Indies, and England. Many farmers entered produce and livestock in the annual Prince County Exhibition held in the fall on the Drill Shed grounds.
In 1873, James Ludlow Holman opened the 150-room Island Park Hotel on Indian Island in the harbour, which was the start of true Island tourism. The commercial centre on Water Street with its independent shopkeepers was impressive, and Summerside had the distinction of being a militia town. There were now two schools, a number of mainstream churches and two newspapers. Summerside was home to around 2000 people, some in fine homes built to the north but many others in shanties.
A big 1873 issue for Summerside was no local government to oversee services and maintain order. While fearful of unlawfulness, the community had a way to deal with it. A vigilance committee, established in the 1860s, kept an outlook at night for fire and wrongdoing. It handed out its own form of justice as the thief who stole five pounds learned. A rope was tied around his middle by which he was lowered over the Queen’s Wharf and doused five times in the cold October water. He left Summerside immediately and didn’t return. Residents were happy to learn in 1873 that Summerside was named the County town and a new courthouse and jail would be built.
Summerside was a happening place in 1873.
