Queen Square a century ago.

At first the bigger boats could not come in to the wharf and they had to be loaded from lighters, but, as the town grew, longer wharves were constructed and cargo sheds were pro— vided.

Charlottetown developed only as fast as Prince Edward

Island (the name the colony was given in 17 90), for the town could only flourish if the country was prosperous. At first

there were no roads and what little commerce there was had to be carried on by boat. The journey to town from distant parts of the Island had to be undertaken on horseback and meant an absence of some days from home. “If I go to Char- lottetown,” wrote one rural resident who evidently found his Visits too strenuous, “I am led into dissipation there and return

home with an aching head, an empty pocket, and a half— starved horse.” As roads were built and wagons and carriages

appeared on them, business and social relations between town and country increased. Shops were opened, for there were more customers to buy, and the market invited rural produce into the town. The town gradually became more urban in character as pasture lots gave way to building sites and its people became more dependent on rural settlers for their produce.

With the arrival of increasing numbers of settlers to different parts of the Island the agricultural industry grew. With it developed the timber trade, for the clearance of every woodlot yielded valuable lumber for building houses and ships. The business of the colony then increased, especially when ports were opened to the export trade. After the turn of the century ships were built in Island ports, loaded with the

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