Kensington is a Canadian town located in Prince 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 ...

. It is northeast of the city of Summerside. In 2021, its population was 1,812.

History

The area was first known as Five Lanes End, as roads from five different communities converged at the point. It was renamed Barrett's Cross in 1824 after an early settler who established an inn in the area. In 1862, the town was renamed after

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and it became a town after 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 ...

's mainline from Charlottetown to Summerside curved through the community. The town's former railyards are now rehabilitated as a tourist venue, with the former Kensington Railway Station designed by architect Charles Benjamin Chappell 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 1976.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Kensington had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Events

Aside from being a service centre for the surrounding

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

areas, Kensington hosts many notable events throughout the year. These include the Kensington Harvest Festival, Miss Community Gardens pageant, and many more.

Education

Kensington has schools from Preschool to Secondary. It is part of the English Language School Board (formerly part of the Western School Board) District of schools. At the Preschool level there are numerous organizations such as Fun Times Kindergarten, Play School, Happy Days Playschool, and Kiddietown Day Care. Kensington has one elementary school, Queen Elizabeth Elementary.Queen Elizabeth Elementary
/ref> Opened on December 3, 1976, Queen Elizabeth teaches kindergarten through grade 6. The school has two playgrounds, the front playground being used for the primary grades and the back playground for grades 4 through 6. The school contains a music room, gymnasium, French room, and library. Many extracurricular activities are offered to students, such as intramurals, choir, chess club, photography club and more. It is also home to

Kensington Intermediate Senior High School Kensington Intermediate Senior High School, is a Canadian secondary school in Kensington, Prince Edward Island. Opened in 1955, it was a very small school until it received a $6.7 million grant and were added. Today it hosts grades 7 through 1 ...

which teaches grades seven to twelve. KISH (as it is often abbreviated) offers many extracurricular programs and organizations such as the Gender Sexuality Alliance, the student council, sports teams (e.g. rugby, soccer, basketball and more), Travel and Tourism, Agriculture (known commonly as Aggies), concert and jazz band and much more.

References

External links

* {{coord, 46, 26, N, 63, 39, W, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Communities in Prince County, Prince Edward Island Towns in Prince Edward Island Populated places established in 1824