Introduction

Travel And Transportation

Community Services

Businesses

Acknowledgements

Introduction

The community of Panmure Island is located in Southern Kings County in eastern Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada. This area is approximately 15km southeast of the town of Montague, and 45km southeast of Charlottetown, the Island's capital city and birthplace of Confederation.

Like other parts of Prince Edward Island, Panmure Island has mild weather. The daytime temperatures are comfortable and moderate; from the onset of spring to the end of summer, they usually range from 8 to 30 degrees Celsius; from autumn to winter's end, temperatures normally range from 8 to -10 degrees Celsius.

Travel And Transportation

The first settlers on Panmure Island were the Mi'kmaq who came over in the summer from Nova Scotia. In the early 1800's, Andrew MacDonald of Scotland bought all of Panmure Island, and then divided it into lots to sell.

There used to be a sandbar connecting Panmure Island to the rest of Prince Edward Island, where the residents travelled to and fro on their horse and buggy. In 1930, a causeway was built. In the early 1900's, roads were built on Panmure Island; shortly thereafter, people began using cars for travel.

Community Services

Residents of Georgetown used to travel by boat to Panmure Island to attend the Roman Catholic Church, until it was torn down in 1837. Lumber was then hauled to Georgetown across the ice in the Georgetown Harbour to build a new church. The people of Panmure Island therefore had to travel to Georgetown to attend church.

A post office had operated from 1907 to 1916, but it no longer exists.

The school on Panmure Island was built in 1897. There were no school buses then, so students had to walk to and from school. It closed in the late 1960's when it was converted into a community center.

In 1850, the first octagonal lighthouse was built on Panmure Island. Workers had to keep the kerosene lantern constantly lit; the fog horn was run by steam boilers. When electricity came, the lighthouse became automated, and the fog alarm was moved to a nearby home.

Businesses

There have been many rumors about the existence of de Roma Glass Factory Works on Panmure Island in the early 1700's; however, there is no conclusive evidence. During the 1890's and the early 1900's, a large fur company operated a fox ranch consisting of about 1000 to 1500 foxes. Neil Campbell was one of the caretakers during this period. A post office had operated from 1907 to 1916, but it no longer exists.

In the late 1920's, a lobster factory located at the end of the causeway was owned by William Martell from Georgetown, and employed many local residents. The pump pipe casing can still be seen at low tide today. The tides have eroded the land so much that the property where the factory was located is now ocean!

The main sources of employment in the 1950's were farming and fishing. The wharf on Panmure Island was built around that time by a man named Joe French who built it himself within a ten year period. Today it's still called Joe French's Wharf. There are no longer any fishermen on Panmure Island; only a few small farmers remain. Today most of the residents travel to Montague or Charlottetown to work, or are retired.

Acknowledgements