The City of Charlottetown is proud to announce the historic pop-up exhibit, Shipbuilding: The Age of Sail and Beyond, is now open.
Created in partnership with the Prince Edward Island Regiment Museum, the display features historic images and a variety of artifacts related to shipbuilding and refit. Shipbuilding was one of the most lucrative industries in P.E.I.’s history. From 1800 to 1880, about 4,000 wooden ships were constructed across the Island. Many prominent local shipbuilders – such as the Peakes and the Douses – made their fortunes from wooden ships built not only in Charlottetown, but all over the Island.
By 1880, the industry which made up about 50 per cent of P.E.I.’s economy had disappeared for various reasons, the largest being the growing popularity of iron and steel ship hulls. Although the shipbuilding industry would never return to its former glory, local companies like Hall and Stavert and Bruce Stewart and Co. became successful manufacturers of marine parts.
The display can be found on the first floor of the Confederation Court Mall and will be available for viewing during regular mall hours until August 26, 2024.
The City and the P.E.I. Regiment Museum would like to thank the Confederation Court Mall for providing the exhibit space and all the individuals and organizations – particularly Randy Ross and Frank Stewart – who generously contributed to the exhibit.
For information on how to donate historic photos or to permit the city to scan your historic images, please contact the Planning and Heritage Department at
[email protected] or by phone at 902-629-4051.
Photos:
Slim O’Brien, employee of Bruce Stewart and Co. working on the HMCS Kamloops, Feb. 1944.
Launched on Aug. 7, 1940, the HMCS Kamloops served as an escort for ships both in local waters and across the ocean. In 1943, it took part in the convoy battle for ONS 18/ON 202 during the Battle of the Atlantic, where six merchant ships and three escorts were lost. The corvette was one of several ships that sailed into Charlottetown Harbour for refit at Bruce Stewart and Co. during the Second World War. Located near the site of the current Confederation Landing Park, Bruce Stewart & Co. was one of the largest employers in P.E.I., with interests in a variety of areas including marine engines, farm machinery and automobiles.
Frank M. Stewart Collection, City of Charlottetown Archives
James Ellis Peake, (1797-1860)
James Ellis Peake was the patriarch of the Peake family, known locally as prominent shipbuilding merchants. Originally from Plymouth, England, he came to Charlottetown in 1824 where the family already had a successful business under the Peake and Sons name. After his death, his sons James Jr., Ralph and George Peake would also come to P.E.I. to work in the family business. No less than three of the wharfs on the Charlottetown waterfront were owned by the family, with Peakes Quay at the foot of Great George Street still bearing their name. Unfortunately, the collapse of P.E.I.’s shipbuilding industry reduced their business significantly. However, it would continue to operate into the 1900s. Sadly, one of the brothers, James Peake Jr. would lose his elaborate house, Beaconsfield (2 Kent St.), due to events influenced by the decline of the shipbuilding industry.
Public Archives and Records Office