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Montague, Prince Edward Island

Montague (2006 pop. 1,995) 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, two hardware stores, a number of independent businesses, and several fast food restaurants, banks, and car dealerships.

General Information

The town is home to the Kings County Memorial Hospital, Iceland Arena, the Montague Curling Club, along with elementary, intermediate and regional high schools. 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 46º10'N, 62º39'W..

Culture

The Town of Montague celebrates its birthday the first week after Canada day every year with an annual tradition called Montague Days , with activities including midway, buskers, soap box derby, Miss Montague contest, a pet parade,a parade (missed in 2007 due to construction of the bridge) and a fireworks display on the Montague Waterfront to wrap up the weekend long festival. The Montague Waterfront also plays host to musical acts and various other activities all weekend long. Birthday cake is given out on the Sunday of the festival to visitors to the waterfront.

History

At the time of Samuel Holland's survey in the 1760s, Georgetown was designated as the shire town of Kings County. The Montague River was the southernmost of three rivers draining the area. Eventually Lower Montague and the Montague Road and Montague Bridge were named after the river. The river itself traces its name to either George Brudenell, 4th Earl of Cardigan (later George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu), John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, or Montague Wilmot, Governor of Nova Scotia (which then included St. John's Island - present-day Prince Edward Island) at the time of Holland's survey.

Former Premier William Bennett Campbell and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brad Richards were born in the town's hospital.

Developments

A new bridge was built in the town and officially opened in December 17, 2007. A ceremony was held at the bridge on a bitterly cold day. A procession of pedestrians and vehicles were among the first official people to cross the bridge. Among those in attendance were former Lt.-Gov. Gilbert Clements who cut the ribbon at the previous bridge, Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron MacKinley, Community Affairs Minister Carolyn Bertram, Mayor Pat McGowan as well as other provincial MLAs, officials and residents. Included in the vehicle procession was a vintage firetruck driven by Bardy Nelson, Jeff Nelson and the town's first female firefighter Lenore Lubbert. An elderly woman was one of the first to cross the bridge prior to the official opening when she unknowingly followed a snowplow across the bridge.

A new wellness centre is to be built within the town. This wellness centre will consist of an ice surface, offices, meeting rooms, indoor walking tracks and a library.

A new regional high school is to be built in the town. The new high school will be moved to a new location and will replace the existing, aging, structure.