Mount Stewart is a

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 ...

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 located in the northeastern part of Queens County, at the head of the once-navigable portion of the Hillsborough River at the point where the river begins to narrow significantly. Mount Stewart had a population of 226 at the time of the 2021 Census. The community played an important role in the province's early transportation history, being the site of a bridge over the river along the route between the capital at

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 ...

and the shire town of Kings County at Georgetown.

History

In the early 1870s, 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 ...

ran its mainline between both communities through Mount Stewart. If any one wanted to travel to Georgetown or Souris from Charlottetown, they would have to come through or make a stop at Mount Stewart. Mount Stewart also came to be referred to as Mount Stewart Junction after the PEIR built a line northeast to Morell and Souris. During the 1930s, the community became the centre of all railway service accessing eastern PEI after the

Hillsborough River Bridge The Hillsborough River Bridge is a bridge crossing the Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island), Hillsborough River estuary between Charlottetown and Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Stratford in Queens County, Prince Edward Island. The current ro ...

carrying the railway line to Murray Harbour between Charlottetown and Southport was condemned. The CNR constructed what was known as the "Short Line" between Mount Stewart and Lake Verde, permitting rail traffic to continue to serve the southeastern part of the province. People would also use the railways to transport vegetables, potatoes, lumber, and other resources. The last train that came here was from Charlottetown in 1989, it was also when the railway stopped running.

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 ...

, Mount Stewart 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.

Education

There is one school that is operating in Mt. Stewart currently. It was built May 7, 1976. It is located 120 Main Street, Mount Stewart, PE. There are approximately 160 students as of April 2013. The grades are Kindergarten up to Grade Eight. In 2009 two schools joined Mount Stewart Consolidated, such as St. Teresa's and Tracadie Cross. After students finish grade eight they go to Morell Regional High School for grades 9-12. The school that was operating before the current school is now being used for storage.

Sports

Baseball in Mount Stewart and surrounding areas was and still is very popular. The teams have won the Atlantic championships over many years. They also had a team in the KCBL (Kings County Baseball League). Some of the local boys went to the Florida Rookie League. This league was for males in university who show dedication to playing pro ball.

References

{{PEI Communities in Queens County, Prince Edward Island Rural municipalities in Prince Edward Island