Georgetown is a community located within the municipality of Three Rivers in Kings County,

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 ...

, Canada. It is the Capital of Kings County. Previously incorporated as a town, it amalgamated with the town of Montague, the rural municipalities of

Brudenell Brudenell is a community in the township of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan, Ontario, Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. History The history of Brudenell is most often presented as a "boom and bust" narrative in which ...

, Cardigan,

Lorne Valley Lorne Valley was a municipality that held community status in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was incorporated in 1978. On September 28, 2018, it was combined with six other municipalities to create the town of Three Rivers. See also *List ...

, Lower Montague, and Valleyfield, and portions of three adjacent unincorporated areas in 2018.

History

This area of eastern Prince Edward Island traces its history of human settlement to the Mi'kmaq Nation, which long inhabited the area. These people were referred to as ''Epegoitnag'' and for them, the region was an Acadian forest. It had wild game, as well as fruit, berries and wild nuts for gathering, and plentiful marine resources in the nearby rivers and

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 ...

. The land in this area was called ''Samkook'', which translates to 'the land of the sandy shore'. Georgetown lies opposite Brudenell Point, which divides the Brudenell River to the north from the Montague River to the south. Brudenell Point was the location of the first permanent

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

settlement; French colonists called the island ''Ile-Saint-Jean.'' Here, entrepreneur Jean Pierre Roma landed in 1732 with approximately 100 settlers, to begin a commercial settlement to grow food and catch fish for provisioning the French military garrison at

Fortress of Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two sie ...

on Ile-Royale (now

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

). French settlers called the area ''Trois-Rivieres'' (Three Rivers). In conflict over control of the region, British colonists burned the village in 1745, at the same time that they took control of Port-la-Joye. Following the transfer of control of Acadia to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

after it defeated France in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

in 1763, Captain Samuel Holland selected the entirety of Cardigan Point for the capital of Kings County, in a survey conducted for the Crown. He designated it as the township of Kings Royalty. The county capital was to be named Georgetown in honour of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. The settlement was oriented on magnetic north, and a broad street network was designed. Present-day Georgetown's collection of heritage buildings mostly dates to the late

Victorian Era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, when the community was at the height of its importance in the wooden

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

industry. As one of the most important ports in the colony of Prince Edward Island, the port was selected in 1870 to be the eastern terminus of the

Prince Edward Island Railway The Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) was a historic Canadian railway in Prince Edward Island (PEI). The railway ran tip-to-tip on the island, from Tignish in the west to Elmira in the east, with major spurs serving Borden-Carleton's train fer ...

(PEIR). It also became a steamship terminal, with connections to the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

on the mainland at

Pictou, Nova Scotia Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Glasg ...

. Georgetown's harbour was frequently the only port on the island that was usable during the winter months, because of prevailing wind and tide directions. (This was before the construction of the

Canso Causeway The Canso Causeway (''Cabhsair Chanso'' in Gaelic) is a rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is , carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes of th ...

altered sea ice patterns in the Northumberland Strait). On September 28, 2018, the Town of Georgetown amalgamated with the Town of Montague, five nearby rural municipalities – Brudenell, Cardigan, Lorne Valley, Lower Montague, and Valleyfield – and portions of three adjacent unincorporated areas. Georgetown is the birthplace of Prince Edward Island's 33rd Premier

Dennis King Dennis King (born Dennis Pratt, 2 November 1897 – 21 May 1971) was an English actor and singer. Early years Born on 2 November 1897 in Coventry, Warwickshire, or Birmingham, England, King was the son of John and Elizabeth King Pratt. He ...

Geography

Georgetown, Capital of Kings County, was developed on an 8-kilometre-long peninsula formed by the Cardigan and Brudenell rivers, along with Georgetown Harbour. This peninsula forms part of the township of

Georgetown Royalty, Prince Edward Island Georgetown or George Town may refer to: Places Africa *George, South Africa, formerly known as Georgetown * Janjanbureh, Gambia, formerly known as Georgetown * Georgetown, Ascension Island, main settlement of the British territory of Ascension Is ...

and extends into Cardigan Bay, a sub-basin of the

to the east. Georgetown Harbour is a deep natural harbour (nearly 11 metres). It lies to the south of the community at the confluence of the Brudenell River and the Montague River.

Climate

Demographics

Infrastructure

The Port of Georgetown is a deep water harbour situated in Cardigan Bay on the east coast of Prince Edward Island, south of the Port of Souris. The port remains ice-free from April 15 through December 31. Shipping through winter is not required by any of the current clientele. Georgetown is approximately 100 km from the port of Charlottetown, the capital of the province. The PEIR mainline from Georgetown extended through Montague Junction (where a spur was built to service nearby Montague) to

Mount Stewart Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Iris ...

and on to Royalty Junction (connection to

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

), Summerside and Alberton.

Economy

In the 20th century, Georgetown's industrial base diversified to include the island's only

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

, East Isle Shipyard. Now owned by J.D. Irving Limited (JDI), it is well known for its construction of

tugboats A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

, such as ''Atlantic Spruce'', '' Atlantic Oak,'' and the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

's Glen class tugs. The community is also home to the Island's largest

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

(also owned by JDI). A major seasonal employer is a

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

plant, operated by Seafood 2000 and originally constructed by National Sea Products Limited.

Local attractions

* Georgetown is adjacent to Brudenell River Provincial Park, which hosts a campground and tourist accommodations. Two of the province's top golf courses,

Brudenell River Golf Course Brudenell River Golf Course is a public golf course located in Brudenell, Prince Edward Island. The course is an eighteen-hole course built by the provincial government of Prince Edward Island was originally opened in 1969. The course gets its ...

and

Dundarave Golf Course Dundarave Golf Course is a public golf course located in Brudenell, Prince Edward Island. The red sandstone based course was designed by two architects, Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, and opened July 15, 1999. Dundarave has hosted golfers Ja ...

, are located at the Brudenell River Resort. * A lit boardwalk along the water has benches, lookouts, a gazebo, and access to the beach. * The Confederation Trail passes through Georgetown, offering water views, and good conditions for walking or cycling. * 10 historical buildings are listed in Georgetown. A walking tour is available for visitors to show these and other buildings of interest. * A.A. Macdonald Memorial Park is the largest garden in Prince Edward Island. it commemorates

Andrew Archibald Macdonald Andrew Archibald Macdonald, (14 February 1829 – 21 March 1912) served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1 August 1884 to 2 September 1889, and was one of the fathers of Canadian Confederation. Birth and ea ...

, one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation. In 2015 it was nominated as one of Canada's Great Places.Great Places Canada nomination
. Accessed October 2, 2015

References

Government of PEI Municipality InformationGeorgetown Statistics

External links

* {{Authority control Communities in Kings County, Prince Edward Island Former towns in Prince Edward Island Populated coastal places in Canada Populated places established in 1732 Populated places disestablished in 2018