If your heading to PEI...

[Dosing]

I pitty you , but all the same the milsurper stuck in Charlottetown will find a few things to kill some time. The Militia has a Museum down on the waterfront, open Mon-Fri 0830-1400 (or by appointment).
Its a small museum, no where near the size of something like CFB Gagetowns, or even the Sgts room at the Citadel in Halifax, but it has one or two interesting items.
Besides two cannons (one 9 pounder), one a really sweet bronze item from 1812 (6 pounder), it also has a poorly labeled small arms collection. Nothing major, but the #1mk1 armourer/instructers rifle really caught my attention. I would have bought it if it was for sale. No camera so regretably no pics of it, but the condition was excellent. Also a Maxim, a Ross, Ross bayo, etc, couple Enfields, a PEI unit Brown Bess (74th IIRC).
I was actually on the prowl for cannons, so I was more than delighted when I stumbled over some sweet-azz 18 pounders a little ways away, in Queens Park (2min drive, 3min walk). So now PEI actually has some value in my books, a province with no Smooth Bore artillery ain't not a province

There is one more tiny military museum here on PEI I have yet to check out, but artillery is actually well represented on the Island at cenetafs etc.

The museum at the Charlottetown Armouries actually rates highly in my books, as it is like museums as I remember them, not just a sterile 'interpretation centre'. Lots of pics of Maritime wartime units etc. Good way to spend an hour if you are in town.

 

[Dosing]

Ooops forgot two boer war mausers, there is a good section on the Boer War and kit, even some hard tack as issued to the troops.

 

[EnfieldMike]

So Spudville aint so bad after all, eh?

 

[cosmic]

Could be worse - you could have been in "Surf City" NB, as we used to call it when I was a student in the merrytimes.

 

[Stevo]

You mean there's more there than Green Gables?

 

[bill c68]

You mean there's more there than Green Gables?

Where is the puking smiley?

Thanks Dosing, I never knew there was a military museum here, I will have to check it out some day.
And if you don't like PEI... then leave (I might someday) But it is home and unlike our closest neighbours, we can take our non restricteds anywhere (with landowner permission) to shoot.

 

[Dosing]

And if you don't like PEI...

Ha! If I left who would tell you natives whats wrong with the Island, and where things are on the Island
I'll let you know how the second one is when they open it

 

[airwapiti]

even some hard tack as issued to the troops.

I bet the hard tack tastes the same as it did when issued

 

[Strangeday]

Now now

I went to high school on the island and I'll tell you this... I loved living on the island and go back every year to visit friends. When we first moved my mother spent the summer taking us to every tourist attraction and museum there was. Found out by the time i started school that I knew more about the province than the kids who lived there for their whole lives....

Plus...cannons are so friggin cool...

 

[bill c68]

Oh yeah Dosing... I never heard of Queens Park... I think you are confused...
There is a Victoria Park with some Cannons and she was a Queen.

If you go directly across the water to Fort Amherst (Port La Joie) you can see the other side of the harbour, it was heavily fortified at one time as well, not sure if they have any cannons there but they have old trenches etc.
I heard of a few guys going there at night with their metal detectors, I guess there is tons of cannon balls in the ground.

 

[Rapt]

You missed mentioning Gahan House for some excellent PEI beer, and the wonderful everpresent and deeply delicious seafood. Catch your own at most beaches.

Bar clams, Malpeque oysters, Gahan House beer.... aand a campsite by the sea. Ahhh....

 

[Dosing]

Oh yeah Dosing... I never heard of Queens Park... I think you are confused...
There is a Victoria Park with some Cannons and she was a Queen.

If you go directly across the water to Fort Amherst (Port La Joie)

Yeah looking at the map I see there are two parks, I thought it was Queen Elizabeth Park, but quite Clearly it was Battery Point at Victoria Park.

I did Fort Amherst and was more than dissapointed with it. Parks Canada should be ashamed of the state it is in. They should haul the Battery point guns over to Ft Amherst and set it up like a mini Fortress Louisbourg, or more realistically Port Royal... my two cents.


Summerside has 4 or so 9 pounders (IIRC) and there is a small howitzer, not sure of the caliber in Kensington (thats the next one on the list)

 

[bill c68]

Did you notice on some of the Charlottetown Street corners, there are Cannon standing upright on the sidewalk? I never noticed them until a few years ago, I guess they were there forever.

 

[bill c68]

There is alot of interesting history all along the Hillsborough (East) River.
If you know what you are looking for you can see foundations of old Fench/Acadian setlements. I can show you the site of an old French Fort, it is now a farmed field, but next to it there are old Acadain Dyke systems (not to be confused with French Lesbians)
There is an Island in the middle of the Hillsborough, it is said that the French had a Huge chain stretched across the river to the island, when british ships, came up the river they would lift the chain and tear a hole in the boats.
My friend and his father have found lots of stuff in the area such as musket balls, arrow heads, link of chain and an old scabbard with a rusty sword, apparently when the sword was removed form the sheath, the blade was like a mirror.

You have a metal detector? I don't think the Island has been heavily explored.

 

[BerniePEI]

A little more Island history... My great-grandmother clipped this from The Guardian back in 1900. It was a pretty cool find in the old house.

Sorry for the poor photo quality!