Bonshaw is a former

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

within Queens County.

History

The Municipality of Bonshaw was originally incorporated in 1977. It incorporated as a rural municipality on January 1, 2018. The Strathgartney Homestead in Bonshaw, the remnants of a former estate, was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1996 in recognition of the absentee landowner problem that persisted in Prince Edward Island until the passage of the '' Land Purchase Act'' of 1875. The province designated a rock in Bonshaw with etchings from the 1880s as a heritage site on February 2, 2015. On September 1, 2020, the Rural Municipality of Bonshaw amalgamated with the rural municipalities of Afton, Meadowbank, New Haven-Riverdale, and

West River West River may refer to: Rivers Canada *West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia * West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia * West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia * West ...

. The amalgamated municipality was named the Rural Municipality of West River.

Geography

Bonshaw is located near the province's south shore on the

Northumberland Strait The Northumberland Strait (French: ''détroit de Northumberland'') is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western sho ...

. It is located in the valley of the Bonshaw River, also known as the Tjigaoegatig (

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

for 'bass place') River or West River and is surrounded by low rolling hills colloquially referred to as the Bonshaw Hills. The freshwater portion of the river at the tidehead offers trout fishing. Localities within Bonshaw include Bonshaw and Crosbys Mill.

Attractions

Bonshaw has hiking and biking trails.

Bonshaw Provincial Park Bonshaw Provincial Park is a provincial park with hiking trails in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It has over 18km of hiking trails. Its main trail is named ''Ji'ka'we'katik''-meaning "the place where bass is plentiful"-its traditional Mi'kmaq T ...

is on the eastern edge of Bonshaw.

References

Communities in Queens County, Prince Edward Island Former rural municipalities in Prince Edward Island {{PrinceEdwardIsland-geo-stub