The drive from Fundy National Park in New Brunswick to Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island takes only three hours, but a world of change takes place along the way.  Starting from rugged forestland, one crosses the impressively long Confederation Bridge onto an island of gently rolling hills fully developed into farmland.  Traffic that has gone unnoticed suddenly becomes unusually aggressive, and soon one enters a small city with a surprising amount of urban sprawl.  At the end comes yet another change as one arrives in a pleasant 19th century historic district, a place that seems as far from Fundy as one can get.

It’s not truly reflected in these buildings, but Charlottetown is one of Atlantic Canada’s oldest cities.  French settlers - the Acadians - were the first Europeans in this area, but as mentioned back on the Cape Breton page, they were swept out after the French defeat to the British in the mid-1750s.  The British then established Charlottetown, naming it after the wife of newly crowned King George III.  Today, with a population of well over 30,000, Charlottetown cannot be called quaint, but the buildings in its historic district do have character.

For example, this unusually colorful stone and brick building has a bust on top.  That’s Owen Connolly, once the wealthiest businessman in Charlottetown, who at the time of his death in 1887 left most of his estate (around twelve million in today’s dollars) to assist the needy and to educate poor Irish Catholic boys on Prince Edward Island.  This was the site of his grocery store built in 1864; this particular building was constructed a couple of years after his death.

The historic area of Charlottetown is quite small and can easily be covered within a half-day; however, browsing in the little shops, stopping by a pub for lunch, visiting some of the historic buildings, making an afternoon stop for Cows ice cream, and walking back down along the waterfront can easily stretch into a full day.  Charlottetown is also a good central starting point for exploring much of the island, though reaching the far east or west coast is too much for a day trip.

The Great George in Charlottetown is the best place I stayed in all of Atlantic Canada; I found it far better than the more expensive Fairmont Hotels in St. Andrews and St. John’s.  A group of twelve restored properties in the heart of the historic district, this “boutique hotel” is quaint but modern - my ideal - and a pleasure to return to every day.  Best of all, the staff bakes wonderful chocolate chip cookies for the guests all day long; with the lobby just downstairs from my room, I took full advantage of that.  The Great George, all by itself, makes a stay in Charlottetown worthwhile.

Immediately across the street from The Great George is St. Dunstan’s Basilica.  A Catholic church has stood in this location since 1816, but this Gothic version was created about a century later.

The interior of St. Dunstan’s Basilica.  The Catholic Church’s first presence on Prince Edward Island, in 1721, ministering to French settlers, ended when the British kicked out the French a few decades later.  It wasn’t until 1777 that the Catholic Church established a permanent presence here, this time for Catholic immigrants from Scotland.  This became the first diocese in Atlantic Canada.

The stained glass windows here are new; this one represents one of the former Bishops of Charlottetown.  This was the last church interior I photographed on this trip; all in all, the stained glass windows at St. John’s Lutheran Church back in Mahone Bay remain my favorite.

Just steps away from The Great George and St. Dunstan’s Basilica is Province House.  It may not look remarkable - even the front and back of the building look the same - but within these walls, Canada was conceived.  In September of 1864 the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island held a conference here to discuss forming a union.  Ontario and Quebec, known then as Canada West and Canada East, joined the conference and proposed a greater union that included not only the Maritimes but also themselves.  Less than three years later, Britain’s Parliament signed the British North American Act, creating the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867 - a separate government, but still under the British Crown.  Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (but not Prince Edward Island!) were its first members.

Amazingly, no formal record was kept of the Charlottetown meeting, which was held in this room.  Only the personal letters of the participants can be used to reconstruct what was said and agreed upon here.  Some of those letters were likely written at what is now The Great George, as the delegates stayed there during the conference.

The library and conference room in Province House which, like the meeting room, has been restored to look like it did at the time of the 1864 conference.  Province House officially opened in 1847 with a session of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly, which continues to convene here.

And now for something completely different.  One activity I attended in Charlottetown outside of the historic district, at the Benevolent Irish Society, was a ceilidh - a combination of Celtic music and dance.  The musical entertainment this night was provided by Guinness, a husband and wife duo who played over two hours of Irish folk music on a variety of instruments.  Most attending the performance were tourists, which kept audience participation to a minimum, but what little dancing took place was fun to watch.