Introduction
The following sections provide a sampling of possible sources for maps and air photos to trace the evolution of both the PEI landscape, and cartography from the early 18th century to the mid 20th century.
This is by no means a comprehensive survey – for the evolution of PEI maps, Reg Porter’s Prince Edward Island Heritage Blog provides a detailed overview of the progression of cartography, while UPEI’s “Island Imagined” website provides additional detailed lot maps. Please see the References sections for more examples.
Georeferenced versions of key maps and aerial photo surveys can be found on GeoPEI: The Prince Edward Island Historical Map Viewer, a web application of the UPEI lab for Geospatial Research in Atlantic Canadian History (GeoREACH Lab). This reference will be updated as more are added to the service.
Acadian Era
- Anonymous maps, likely between 1720 and 1730 since the first Acadian communities were only established in 1720.
Bibliography entry (L):
Anonymous. Isle St-Jean, isles de Miscou, isles de la Madelaine, coste d’Acadie, isle Royale. Map. 1713. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, btv1b530644681.
Bibliography entry (R):
Anonymous. Plan des 1720-30 Plan des côtes N. de l’Acadie avec les îles de St Jean. Map. C1730. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, btv1b53089893w.
Image acknowledgement:
Courtesy Reg Porter, from https://regporter.com/pei/2020/11/25/maps-of-the-colony-of-ile-saint-jean-part-1-1720-1745/
- Anonymous map known as “The d’Arrigrand Map” due to bottom label. Undated but labels similar to (A) and (B). Provides additional detail for Tracadie-St. Peters area.
Bibliography entry:
Anonymous. The d’Arrigrand Map. Map. 1713. PEI Archives and Records Office, map 0,547.
Image acknowledgement:
Courtesy Reg Porter, from https://regporter.com/pei/2020/11/25/maps-of-the-colony-of-ile-saint-jean-part-1-1720-1745/
- Map erroneously dated 1690; likely between 1740 and 1750, given additional/changed labels to earlier maps. After Jacques Bellin, 1744.
Bibliography entry:
Anonymous. Acadie, Isle Saint Jean and part of Isle Royale with the Baye Francoise. Map. 1713. Paris: Bibliotheque national, 20014430.
Image acknowledgement:
Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:hx11z489p
- Map from the survey of Louis Franquet, 1751.
More detail can be found in Gone to the Bay, Three Centuries and the Island, Reg Porter’s blog, Island Magazine articles.
Bibliography entry:
Franquet, Sr. Louis. Carte de l’Isle St Jean dans la Golfe de St. Laurent en Canada. Map. 1751. Library and Archives Canada, Collection Louis Franquet, H-3023, https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_h3023/62.
Image acknowledgement:
Courtesy Reg Porter, https://regporter.com/pei/2020/11/25/maps-of-the-colony-of-ile-saint-jean-part-1-1720-1745/
- W.J. Herbert’s map of the island, post-Deportation but prior to the Holland Survey. Details French settlements. Dated 1760 by Island Imagined by 1764 by PARO.
Cleared land may be exaggerated, but note that the church at St. Pierre that does not appear on Holland’s survey.
Bibliography entry:
Hebert, W.J. [No title]. Map. 1764. PEI Archives and Records Office, 0,450.
Image acknowledgement:
Map source: UPEI Island Imagined, https://islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined%3Aparo-0450
British Colonial Era
- 1765 Holland Survey. Key map in PEI history, (mostly) accurate survey of the Island with assigned placenames and division into “Lots”. Includes land coverage details along coasts and estuaries, and overall remarks. For more details, see Lockerby & Sobey (2015).
Original maps are held/digitized by Library and Archives Canada in multiple sheets, but georeferenced versions may be found on GeoPEI.
Bibliography entry:
Holland, Samuel and Charles Pettigrew. A Plan of the Island of St. John in the province of Nova Scotia. 1765. Map. Library and Archives Canada. https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=4125301&q=4125301&ecopy=e007913884_a10-v8.
Image acknowledgement:
Map Source: GeoPEI: The Prince Edward Island Historical Map Viewer, a web application of the UPEI lab for Geospatial Research in Atlantic Canadian History (GeoREACH Lab) ,
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9870ec990eaa40069f772b7025fbd18c/
- 1775 Samuel Holland. Survey updated with new settlements, planned roads, and soundings along coasts and harbours.
Bibliography entry:
Holland, Samuel, and Andrew Dury. A plan of the island of St. John. 1775. Map. Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center. https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:6t053n77m. [Access date].
Image acknowledgement:
Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:6t053n77m
- 1798 Ashby map. After Holland surveys, but updated with roads and communities.
Bibliography entry:
Ashby, H. Prince Edward Island divided into Counties & Parishes. London, 1798. Map. Island Imagined, Robertson Library, UPEI.
Image acknowledgement:
Map source: UPEI Island Imagined, https://www.islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined:16
- Bayfield Charts, 1840s. Thorough naval surveys performed in the mid-19th century, showing soundings, lighthouses, churches.
For more information, see the two volume set of Bayfield’s journals in the Champlain Society series (see link at the bottom of each page to download the full PDFs):
- Ruth McKenzie, ed., The St. Lawrence survey journals of Captain Henry Wolsey Bayfield, vol. I (Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1984), https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/60577/rec/1
- Ruth McKenzie, ed., The St. Lawrence survey journals of Captain Henry Wolsey Bayfield, vol. II (Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1986), https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/50465/rec/1
The Bayfield maps relevant to PEI have been georeferenced in GeoPEI: PEI Historical Maps, Geospatial Research in Atlantic Canadian History, The GeoREACH Lab, UPEI.
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9870ec990eaa40069f772b7025fbd18c/
The larger set of Bayfield’s charts were originally catalogued by McGill University Library. They are now accessible through the Internet Archive in varying levels of detail – if harbour or bay does not have its own chart (e.g. St. Peters Bay), refer to larger eastern and western Northumberland Strait Charts.
For the full list at McGill Library see “Bayfield Charts Collection.” https://www.library.mcgill.ca/hostedjournals/bayfield.html
- Note the “Manuscript index to 167 Bayfield Charts” hand written index dating to 1931. https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-000-index-18873
Eastern Northumberland Strait:
https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-034-18915
Western Northumberland Strait:
https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-033-18914
Bedeque Harbour: https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-074-19227
Cascumpeque Harbour: https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-066-19169
Charlottetown Harbour:
https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-072-19176
Cardigan Bay: https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-068-19171
Murray Harbour: https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-070-19175
New London Bay https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-067-19170
Example: Eastern Northumberland Strait
Bibliography entry (example):
Bayfield, Henry W. The Gulf of St. Lawrence. Sheet IX, Eastern Part of Northumberland Strait. London: Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty, 1845. Nautical Chart. McGill University Library.
Image acknowledgement:
Source: https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_map_bayfield-034-18915, courtesy Digitization McGill.
- George Wright, 1852, as based on Bayfield charts and recent surveys. More detail than Bayfield charts inland, including names of Lot owners.
George Wright Jr. was the 5th and last generation of Wrights to hold the position of Surveyor General, from Thomas (part of the Holland Survey) to Charles to Charles to George Sr. to George Jr.
There were several markups on the PARO copy (link on Island Imagined, below) likely by Henry Cundall prior to 1859, according to Reg Porter. https://regporter.com/pei/2021/05/26/the-cundall-and-wright-maps-of-1851-61-the-birth-of-island-cartography/. Even Estuaries were added, e.g. at the east end of Tracadie Bay, that were later added to maps such as Cundall’s 1861 and 1903.
Bibliography entry:
Wright, George. Map of Prince Edward Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Charlottetown: Surveyor General’s Office, 1852. Map. PEI Archives and Records Office, 1169.
Image acknowledgement:
Map source: UPEI Island Imagined, [PARO’s copy] https://islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined%3A209164
- 1863 Lake map, paid for by subscription. Also based on Bayfield surveys, with additional detail including inserts of cities and towns.
The brown original, digitized by UPEI (46MB file), can be found at https://islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined%3A208687
The Island Register has also created an index of the individual lot maps: https://www.islandregister.com/lakem/1863maps.html
A slightly brighter version, split over 6 pages, can be found at: http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=3976436&lang=eng.
The best complete, cleaned copy is found on Reg Porter’s blog: https://regporter.com/pei/2021/07/01/the-lake-map-of-1863/
Bibliography entry:
Lake, D.J. Topographical Map of Prince Edward Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. St. John, NB: W.E. and H.H. Baker, 1863. Map. Island Imagined, Robertson Library, UPEI.
Image acknowledgement:
Courtesy Reg Porter, https://regporter.com/pei/2021/07/01/the-lake-map-of-1863/
Canadian Era
- Roe’s Atlas. Two maps for Prince Edward Island, also maps for NB, NS, part of Nfld. Atlas also includes geological maps.
In Island Imagined (https://islandimagined.ca/roe_atlas), but better quality maps available from Reg Porter’s blog (https://regporter.com/pei/2021/07/22/the-maps-between-lake-and-meacham-confederation-and-the-railway-1864-1880/)
Example: Kings and Queens Counties
Bibliography entry:
Roe Brothers. Counties of Queens & Kings, Prince Edward Island. St. John, NB, 1878. Atlas Map, 79. Island Imagined, Robertson Library, UPEI, https://islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined:208737. (Access date).
Image acknowledgement (right):
Courtesy Reg Porter, https://regporter.com/pei/2021/07/22/the-maps-between-lake-and-meacham-confederation-and-the-railway-1864-1880/
- Meacham’s Atlas – 1880. This atlas contains maps of all lots, along with illustrations of significant buildings and citizens, maps of towns and villages, and lists of businesses.
However, since the focus is on property ownership, there is little detail along the coasts, so it is not clear if the prevalence of “sandy beach”, for instance, reflects absence of dunes due to storms (1851, 1973) or lack of interest.
https://islandimagined.ca/meachams_atlas
Meacham’s maps have been georeferenced in GeoPEI: PEI Historical Maps, Geospatial Research in Atlantic Canadian History, The GeoREACH Lab, UPEI.
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9870ec990eaa40069f772b7025fbd18c/
Bibliography entry:
Allen, C.R. Map of the Province of Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Philadelphia, PA: J.H. Meacham & Co., 1880. Atlas Map, 23-24. Island Imagined, Robertson Library, UPEI.
Image acknowledgement:
Map source: UPEI Island Imagined, https://islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined:208366.
- 1903 Cundall Revision of 1852 Wright (and 1861 Cundall)
No digitized copies are available of this map, but the GeoREACH Lab has an original hard copy. Edits include the steamship line between Summerside and Charlottetown, plus placenames, roads, etc.
Although Wright and Bayfield are credited, it is unclear if any further coastal surveying was done, since the shoreline would have had significant reconfiguration in the intervening decades. For example, Bowley Pond still opens to the SW, with no corrections by either Cundall or Bayfield (who lived in PEI until 1895).
See also Reg Porter, https://regporter.com/pei/2021/10/25/island-maps-the-years-after-meacham-to-world-war-ii-part-1/
- 1928 Cummins Atlas, includes local directories. Can be found in several collections, and accessed through GeoPEI.
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Cummins+Map+Co./
https://islandimagined.ca/cummins_atlas
GeoPEI: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9870ec990eaa40069f772b7025fbd18c/
Bibliography entry:
Arniel, Melville S. Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Toronto, ON: Cummins Map Company, 1928. Atlas Map, ii. Island Imagined, Robertson Library, UPEI.
Image acknowledgement:
Map source: UPEI Island Imagined, https://islandimagined.ca/islandora/object/imagined:208753
- Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) Topographic Maps, Series 3400s_63_1929
This series of topographic maps, generated between 1925 and 1945, is at a scale of 1:63,360 (1” = 1 mile) and split into sheets and grids across Canada, with the majority of Prince Edward Island found on sheet 11. These maps have been downloaded by the GeoREACH lab and can be georeferenced in ArcGIS.
Example:
Bibliography entry:
Canada, Department of National Defence. Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island. Map. Ottawa: Department of Mines and Resources, 1945. National Topographic Series 3400s_63, 1929, 11/7.
Image acknowledgement:
Courtesy of the GeoREACH lab, University of Prince Edward Island.
- National Topographic Survey (NTS), Series 3400s_50_1948
This series of topographic maps, generated since 1945, is at a scale of 1:50,000 (1cm = 0.5km) and split into sheets and grids across Canada, with the majority of Prince Edward Island again found on sheet 11.
These maps have been release in a series of editions or phases, in print-ready and georeferenced formats:
- Edition 1, simply a conversion from imperial to metric (1:63,360 > 1:50,000), based on earlier surveys, i.e. no difference in map features. Some grids were split into E and W portions for convenience.
- Edition 2, updated and printed in the 1960s
- Edition 3, updated (and recombined) in the 1970s
These three editions have been downloaded to the GeoREACH lab’s servers, and georeferenced versions of Edition 2 have been included on the GeoPEI application. Note that you need to zoom in for this layer to become visible. For screenshots, you can turn off the current street labels by selecting an alternate base map.
Example:
Bibliography entry:
Canada, Department of Energy Mines and Resources. [St. Peters Harbour.] Ottawa: Department of Mines and Resources, 1965. National Topographic Series 3400s_50, 1948, 11/7W and 7E [if known].
Image acknowledgement:
Map source: GeoPEI: PEI Historical Maps, Geospatial Research in Atlantic Canadian History, The GeoREACH Lab, UPEI,
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9870ec990eaa40069f772b7025fbd18c/
Digital maps courtesy Natural Resources Canada.
More recent editions can also be found at the FTP site: http://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/raster/topographic/ in TIF, PDF, GEOTIFF and GEOPDF formats. You only have to look at one index per scale to see the list of available topographic map editions. The CanTopo product is always the most recent map edition, but is not available everywhere.
Example of file nomenclature 011E03:
http://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/raster/topographic/50k/011/e/03/
Example of the directory content for file 011E03:
011e03_0501_cantopo_tif.zip – CanTopo product in format TIF – 5th Edition, version 1 011e03_0501_cantopo_pdf.zip- CanTopo product in format PDF – 5th Edition, version 1 011e03_0501_cantopo_geotiff.zip – CanTopo product in format GEOTIF – 5th Edition, version 1 011e03_0501_cantopo_geopdf.zip – CanTopo product in format GEOPDF – 5th Edition, version 1 011e03_0400_canmatrix_prttif.zip – CanMatrix product – Print ready in format TIFF – 4th Edition, version 0
011e03_0400_canmatrix_prtpdf.zip – CanMatrix product – Print ready in format PDF – 4th Edition, version 0
011e03_0400_canmatrix_geotiff.zip – CanMatrix product – Georeferenced in format TIFF – 4th Edition, version 0
In this example, the most recent map is edition 05, version 01 for the CanTopo product.
The catalogue, specifications and legend of each product are in the following documentation directory: http://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/raster/topographic/doc/
References
Campbell, Claire. “Shore/lines: Mapping Coastlines on Isle Saint-Jean”. NiCHE, August 17, 2020. https://niche-canada.org/2020/08/17/shore-lines-mapping-coastlines-on-isle-saint-jean/
Edelson, S. Max. “Colonizing St. John Island: A History in Maps.” Borealia: Early Canadian History. Blog, November 14, 2018. https://earlycanadianhistory.ca/2018/11/14/colonizing-st-john-island-a-history-in-maps/
Edelson, S. Max. “3. Securing the Northeast” in “Maps for S. Max Edelson, The New Map of Empire: How Britain Imagined America before Independence (Harvard University Press, 2017).” http://www.viseyes.org/mapscholar/?2165&p=30
Horne, Fred. “Cartographic Survey, 1601-1946, Prince Edward Island National Park.” Manuscript Report Number 352. Parks Canada, 1978. http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/352.pdf
Lockerby, Earle, and Douglas Sobey. Samuel Holland: His Work and Legacy on Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown: Island Studies Press, 2015.
MacFadyen, Joshua. Time Flies: A History of Prince Edward Island from the Air. Charlottetown: Island Studies Press, 2023.
Porter, Reginald. “Reg Porter’s Prince Edward Island Heritage Blog.” (https://regporter.com/pei/table-of-contents/)
University of Prince Edward Island. “GeoPEI: PEI Historical Maps, Geospatial Research in Atlantic Canadian History.” Website. The GeoREACH Lab. https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9870ec990eaa40069f772b7025fbd18c/
University of Prince Edward Island. “Island Imagined.” Website. Robertson Library. https://islandimagined.ca/