The Bog is a former neighbourhood in

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 ...

, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The community was settled in the early 19th century by Black people who were enslaved, who had been brought to the colony by their

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

enslavers after the American Revolutionary War. The neighbourhood was bounded by Euston, Pownal, Richmond, and West streets, and by Government Pond. The neighbourhood was demolished for a redevelopment project in the early 20th century.

History

Around 1810, Samuel Martin (–1863), a freed slave known as "Black Sam", petitioned the

government for a parcel of land in the city's west end, adjacent to Government Pond and across from land set aside for the future Government House. While Martin was never formally granted the parcel, the low-lying, marshy land was seen as undesirable by the city's wealthy residents, and a group of freed slaves eventually settled in the area. The land's low value also attracted other impoverished people of Prince Edward Island, and over time the area became a mixed-race

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

with a peak population of about 100 residents. A central feature of the Bog was the Bog School, constructed in 1848 on Kent Street on land donated by Royal Navy Captain John Orlebar. African-Canadian teacher Sarah Harvie was the school's only teacher, and the school closed upon her retirement in 1903. By the time of the school's closure, the demographics of the neighbourhood had evolved, as the original Black residents intermarried with white families or migrated to more robust Black communities in the United States. The Bog was shortly after demolished for a redevelopment project.

Notable people

* George Godfrey, former World Colored Heavyweight champion boxer * George Byers (boxer born June 25, 1872), former World Colored Middleweight and World Colored Heavyweight champion boxer

History

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading