The Community
Panmure Island is a small 800-acre island of red sandstone island, with sand beaches, located off the east coast of Prince Edward Island in the Lot 61 township in Kings County. The island is located about 1 kilometre from the nearest point on Prince Edward Island. The island is connected to the rest of PEI by a causeway, which was built in the 1960’s.
Panmure Island has been recently incorporated into the town of Three Rivers, which includes the communities Montague, Cardigan, Georgetown, Brudenell, Lorne Valley and surrounding rural communities including, Gaspereaux and Panmure Island.
The earliest inhabitants of the island were the Mi’kmaq who used Panmure Island as their summer fishing grounds – they set up camps on the shores of St. Mary’s Bay to harvest the abundant shellfish there: lobsters, mussels, clams and oysters. They returned to their winter homes before the winter set in.
Every August, the Abegweit Pow wow is held on the Native Cultural Grounds, just off the island at the end of the Causeway. The Pow wow is a rejoicing of life through feasting and dancing to the “Heart Beat of Mother Earth,” represented in the Sacred Drum. The Pow Wow ends with a traditional Mi’kmaq Feast that is open to the public.
The first full time settlers came from Scotland. Andrew MacDonald received Panmure Island as a land grant in 1805. The early families of Panmure Island were also Scots, mostly Catholics who built a farming and fishing community on the island. They built a cemetary, a Catholic church (later moved to Georgetown), and a schoolhouse. The lighthouse was built in 1853 on the confluence of the Montague, Cardigan and Brudenell rivers to protect the sailing shipping traffic which was heavy in the mid 19th century as the towns of Montague, Cardigan and Georgetown were the location of a thriving ship building centre. Much of the timber for the sailing ships came from the first growth forests of Panmure Island. The local forests also supplies the lighthouse with it’s heavy timber and the labour was supplied by the local shipbuilders.
Today, the community of Panmure Island is a small rural area of homes and summer cottages. There is still a farming and fishing industry on the island. The principal catch is lobster, with the lobster season on Panmure Island, May and June every year. The largest industry is tourism, thanks to the spectacular beaches, the historic lighthouse, several B&B,s and Guest cottages and the Panmure Island Provincial Park which offers camping during the summer months.
Panmure Island has been recently incorporated into the town of Three Rivers, which includes the communities Montague, Cardigan, Georgetown, Brudenell, Lorne Valley and surrounding rural communities including, Gaspereaux and Panmure Island.
The earliest inhabitants of the island were the Mi’kmaq who used Panmure Island as their summer fishing grounds – they set up camps on the shores of St. Mary’s Bay to harvest the abundant shellfish there: lobsters, mussels, clams and oysters. They returned to their winter homes before the winter set in.
Every August, the Abegweit Pow wow is held on the Native Cultural Grounds, just off the island at the end of the Causeway. The Pow wow is a rejoicing of life through feasting and dancing to the “Heart Beat of Mother Earth,” represented in the Sacred Drum. The Pow Wow ends with a traditional Mi’kmaq Feast that is open to the public.
The first full time settlers came from Scotland. Andrew MacDonald received Panmure Island as a land grant in 1805. The early families of Panmure Island were also Scots, mostly Catholics who built a farming and fishing community on the island. They built a cemetary, a Catholic church (later moved to Georgetown), and a schoolhouse. The lighthouse was built in 1853 on the confluence of the Montague, Cardigan and Brudenell rivers to protect the sailing shipping traffic which was heavy in the mid 19th century as the towns of Montague, Cardigan and Georgetown were the location of a thriving ship building centre. Much of the timber for the sailing ships came from the first growth forests of Panmure Island. The local forests also supplies the lighthouse with it’s heavy timber and the labour was supplied by the local shipbuilders.
Today, the community of Panmure Island is a small rural area of homes and summer cottages. There is still a farming and fishing industry on the island. The principal catch is lobster, with the lobster season on Panmure Island, May and June every year. The largest industry is tourism, thanks to the spectacular beaches, the historic lighthouse, several B&B,s and Guest cottages and the Panmure Island Provincial Park which offers camping during the summer months.