Beaton 's Store pre 1930 courtesy of Barry McPhee CROSBY 'S The 1863 Lake map showed the existence of a second store in Bonshaw . It was on the property of Ewen Crosby , approximately 700 metres east of the bridge on the north side of the Charlottetown road (just west of the current site of the Bonshaw 500 entertainment facility)(2). This store was also noted in the 1864, 1870 and 1871 Directories , but no mention was made of it when Ewen advertised his farm for sale in July 1872 (3,5,6,12). Examination of the surviving newspapers for the period 1870-1872 did not provide the answer to whether the building was moved or was destroyed by fire. It is probable that the building was moved. Did it become Robertson's store? ROBERTSON 'S / McNEVIN 'S / FERGUSON 'S Alexander Robertson purchased Bonshaw farm from William W. Irving inl856(13). He was noted in January and July of 1864 as the agent for the DeSable Cloth Mills, but later that same year an auction was held at his residence and 'all his valuable stock, crops, carriages, furniture, etc' were to be sold without reserve (14,15,16). In 1876 he was noted as having a general store in Bonshaw (17). In July 1879 it was noted that Alexander's store was "burglariourly" entered and a large quantity of goods stolen (62). Whether the building used as the store was the former Crosby store is unclear but by 1880 Alexander had a large building where the Irving Service Station is located today. He ran the store in conjunction with a tanning and shoe manufacturing business and farming 500 acres, until he died in 1880 (18). The business was taken over by his son James Alexander "Jimmie" who ran it until it was sold to A. J. McNevin on June 22nd 1914 for the price of $3,000 (19). -38-