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 Georgetown Centennial - Georgetown, PEI Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 46° 11.031 W 062° 31.930
20T E 536105 N 5114581
A beautiful park between the Kings County Courthouse and Kings Playhouse, A A MacDonald Memorial Gardens was established in 1993 in honour of Andrew Archibald Macdonald, Georgetown’s Father of Confederation.
Waymark Code: WMY7K6
Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Date Posted: 05/05/2018
Views: 2
This gorgeous park was predominantly the work of one man, Frank Stevens, gardens supervisor from 1992 to 2010, aided by a crew of volunteers. The 3.8-acre site is listed at Tourism PEI as PEI's Largest Municipal Gardens. Among the features to be found within the gardens is another superlative, Canada's Largest Ship's Wheel, approximately ten feet in diameter. Also in the gardens are a plethora (over 60) of flower beds consisting of 15,000 annual plants and hundreds of perennials, many shrubs and trees, most donated in honour of various citizens, a lighted pond with a cool lighted fountain in its centre, a pair of schooner anchors, pergolas, benches, picnic tables, the town's cenotaph and several commemorative plaques.
Near the centre of the gardens is this plaque, mounted dais style, placed there in 2012 and unveiled on May 2nd of that year in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Georgetown as a town. That's not to say, however, that Georgetown is anywhere near that young. The Capital of Kings County, Georgetown was first settled by Acadians in the mid 18th century. When the Fortress at Louisbourg finally fell to the British in 1758, this ended French control of the Island, until then known as Isle Saint Jean.
The Acadian deportation resulted in the Three Rivers area being controlled by the British, and along with this came the emergence of a new and important centre – Georgetown.
In 1764, Samuel Holland was commissioned by the British to survey the Island, and to divide it into lots, parishes, counties and capitals. He explained that his reasons for citing Georgetown as the Capital of Kings County were based primarily on the excellence of its harbor.
In 1768 Charles Morris, chief surveyor for Holland’s group, laid out the Town in a grid pattern following the plan for Charlottetown (where the streets meet at 90 degrees), and allowed sizeable back-up lands to be designated as the Royalty. Many of the existing lots in Georgetown have 84 ft. frontage, with 120 ft. depth -which can be traced back to this Morris Survey.
In 1770, Governor Walter Patterson engaged crews to build roads to the Georgetown site. Nevertheless, population growth was slow to materialize. In 1818, a report found that the state of the County Capital could be compared to a wilderness, with no houses built save the ruins of a small log cabin. By 1828, Georgetown could boast only two houses!
In 1803, twenty-two people including James McLaren, his son-in-law, Donald Gordon, and their families settled on the north side of Brudenell River, in what was then nothing more than a wilderness. It was not until the 1830’s however that the carefully laid out town site of Georgetown began to grow.
Read on at the Town of Georgetown
Built by Tim Mair of Georgetown, the plaque makes note of the fact that a ribbon cutting ceremony was presided over by the Honourable H. Frank Lewis, Lieutenant Governor, and Lewis Lavandier, Mayor of Georgetown. The pertinent text on the plaque reads:
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of
Georgetown's Incorporation as a Town
May 2, 1912 - May 2, 2012.
A. A. MacDonald Memorial Gardens
PEI's Largest Municipal Gardens
The AA Macdonald Memorial Gardens is the largest municipally owned gardens of its kind in the Province of Prince Edward Island. In it you will find beautiful memorial beds and plaques, the largest moving ships wheel in Canada, lighted fountain and pond, trellis system, the Town’s outdoor cenotaph, historical display boards, lighted walking paths, benches and waste receptacles.
This public space holds both historical and heritage value. The AA Macdonald Memorial Gardens are located in the center of the Town’s square. They were named after Andrew Archibald Macdonald (or A.A. as he is more familiarly called). A.A. Macdonald was Georgetown’s Father of Confederation. He was born in Three Rivers (Brudenell Point) on February 14, 1829. He represented Georgetown in the House of Assembly. He was second Kings’ member in the first legislature (1863). At the age of 55 A.A. became Lt. Governor, remaining in that position until his appointment to the senate in 1889.
Andrew Archibald Macdonald died in 1912 in Ottawa at the age of 83. His body was brought by ship to Georgetown for burial in the Roman Catholic Cemetery. In 1967 the citizens of Georgetown named the east side square of the town “The A.A. Macdonald Park”. In 1993 when work began on the new gardens, the park was renamed “The A.A. Macdonald Memorial Gardens”. Put A.A. MacDonald Memorial Gardens into our Georgetown road trip tool to see other points of interest to visit during your vacation in Georgetown.
From Inspirock
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Subject: Town
Commemoration: Centennial
Date of Founding: May 2, 1912
Date of Commemoration: May 2, 2012
Address:
36 Kent Street
Georgetown, PEI
C0A 1L0
Overview Photograph:
Yes
Detail Photograph:
Yes
Web site if available: [Web Link]
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