St. Eleanors is a neighbourhood in the city of Summerside,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Located in the northwest part of the township of Lot 17 fronting Malpeque Bay, St. Eleanors was named after Eleanor Sanksey, a housekeeper for a Colonel Harry Compton. It was largely a rural farming community on the northwest edge of the small port town of Summerside until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1940, several farm properties in the northern part of St. Eleanors were purchased by the federal government for the construction of RCAF Station Summerside, a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

training and operations base. The arrival of the RCAF in the hamlet spurred construction of new roads, particularly the all-weather highway known as the "Western Road" ( Route 2). The military spending stimulated dramatic population growth throughout the remaining years of the war and through the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

as the base was repurposed, being renamed CFB Summerside in 1968. The community's status evolved as it became enveloped in suburban residential growth during the post-war period. In 1983, St. Eleanors achieved village status. In 1989, CFB Summerside was identified for closure by 1991, causing the village's economy to undergo a significant readjustment. In 1995, St. Eleanors was amalgamated into the City of Summerside.

References

Former community municipalities in Prince Edward Island Neighbourhoods in Summerside, Prince Edward Island {{PEI-geo-stub