Another fantastic day on the island! The weather was good again, but a bit cooler - about 18 degrees. Instead of going to the beach, we went to check out the east part of the island. But on the way there, we stopped around the corner from our cottage to check these old buildings out.
SOURCE: http://www.farmersbank.ca
The Farmers' Bank of Rustico is a building of national importance, an important monument of P.E.I. architecture as well as a symbol of Acadian survival. The Bank operated from 1864 to 1894 and was an important link in the establishment of "Les Caisses populaires" in Quebec and "Credit Unions" in the rest of Canada.
The building is a legacy of an extraordinary person, Reverend Georges-Antoine Belcourt, parish priest of Rustico from 1859 to 1869. On arriving in Rustico, he noted the lack of education and the extreme economic hardships of the inhabitants. He organized the "Catholic Institute" with over 250 members. Meetings and study clubs resulted in the establishment of the Bank which provided loans to farmers at reasonable rates of interest. The Bank operated for thirty years but was forced to close its doors as a result of the passage of the Bank Act in 1871.
Father Belcourt and his parishioners constructed a building sixty by forty feet in dimensions. The building was of frame construction covered on all sides with sandstone. It was a very imposing structure and built to denote the strength and solidity deserving of a bank. It served as a Parish Hall for many years and is now used as a Museum to commemorate the work accomplished by Father Belcourt during his stay in Rustico.
SOURCE: http://www.farmersbank.ca
As one of the most historic buildings on P.E.I., the Doucet House is certainly the oldest house in the Rustico area and quite possibly in the whole province.
The house was originally situated on Grand-Père Point (Cymbria) and was continually inhabited by descendants of Doucet families until 1982 when it was acquired by John Langdale who used it as a summer residence. When the latter decided to build a new home on the site, he stated his intention to either demolish it or give it to a person or party who would move it to another site. The Friends of the Farmers' Bank accepted the offer and the house was moved to a site adjacent to the Bank in December 1999. The house had originally been used on occasion as a place of worship at a time when there was no church or other suitable building available in the early days of the colony. The house has been fully restored and contains many items of period antique furnishings.
The re-enactment of the arrival of Jean Doucet and his wife Marguerite Gaudet to Rustico by "shallop" took place on June 26, 2004 and the official opening ceremonies of the Doucet House were held on June 29, 2004.
St. Augustine - Oldest Catholic Church in P.E.I. built in 1838.
From there, we headed east to a town called Montague.
What a pleasant surprise!
The place was absolutely cute and perfect for a lazy day, just like we were hoping.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: Montague is a Canadian town and the largest population centre in Kings County, Prince Edward Island.
The town straddles the Montague River which is the dividing line between the townships of Lot 52 and Lot 59. The town functions as a regional service centre for a rural population of 20,000. The town supports two large supermarkets, three hardware stores, a number of independent businesses, and several fast food restaurants, banks, and car dealerships.
Montague is the third largest non-suburban municipality in the province, and is the only town east of Stratford to show notable growth recently.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: The town is home to the Kings County Memorial Hospital, provincial government offices, and the Montague Curling Club, along with an elementary, intermediate and regional high school. The past years have seen a number of older homes and commercial buildings replaced with new, suburban style development along Main Street, particularly in the north end. A large scale redevelopment of the town's waterfront has taken place in recent years.
Located 44 km east of Charlottetown and 15 km southwest of Georgetown, the town's precise location is 46°10′N, 62°39′W.
The Station Cafe.
As the name says, this building used to be a train station a long time ago.
Now it is a nice restaurant where we tried their chowder, mussels and burger.
There is a nice gift store and an information centre right behind it too.
The area around the river could not be better for the kids to run around and explore.
I loved these buildings. They are used for lobster fishing and are located across from the local art gallery where we bought a piece of etching (a kind of printing on the stone technique). This gallery represents about 40 local artists. Really good stuff.
The Montague River.
The great day could not finish any better, back at the cottage meeting an old friend. Jason and I first met years ago while we were participating in a Journalist in Conflict Zone course. Basically we were being trained as journalists as to how to cover wars - in this case with Canadian troops about to be deployed to Afghanistan. The super realistic training exercise happened in the Mohave Desert in California for three weeks and although it was pretty intense, we had a blast as a team. I am so happy to meet up with Jason Boy again - who is an islander from P.E.I. He still the same sweet friend.
PS. You can read about our war experience on this blog - look for the February 2010 posts.
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