mail. In that year the Department of Public Works, in co-operation with the Canadian postal system, constructed seven new post offices on the Island, and one of these was located in Mount Stewart . The attractive new building was erected on the site of the old A. J. Grant store which had recently been operated by Affleck Bros . Electric Light Service The first electric power plant in the province, that of the Prince Edward Island Electric Co., commenced operations in Charlottetown in 1886. It did not, however, generate power for the entire Island, for, dur¬ ing the early years of this century, upwards of thirty small plants were supplying the needs of the rural areas. The Leard Hydro Electric Co. was established by Mr. Fred Leard at Leard's Mills, Pisquid , in 1927. The construction of the 30 kilowatt plant coincided with the opening of the new road from Mount Stewart to Fred Jay 's corner, thus facilitating the installation of a line of poles and the transmission of power to the village by a much shorter route than would have been the case had the power line followed the old road. By February of 1928, 50% of residential Mount Stewart had been wired for electricity. There was not, however, a continuous flow of power, as the Guardian for April 26 of the same year announced that, since some of the residents had purchased electric washers, Mr. Leard was leaving the power on during the morning and turning it on again in the after¬ noon, thus catering to those who wished to "wash and iron" on the same day. The Leard plant was absorbed by Maritime Electric Co. Ltd. in 1937, and a three phase line was built along the St. Peter 's Road from Charlottetown to Mount Stewart . The company's lines were extended eastward to Souris when the purchase of the Souris Electric Co. was effected in 1945. The Provincial Government's rural electrification program was initiated in June, 1954, and, by 1961, more rural farms were being served, percentage-wise, than was the case in Great Britain. Writing in the Guardian for April 13, 1954, a Savage Harbour correspondent announced that sufficient homes per mile to satisfy regulations were being wired in that community. He remarked, however, that the project was losing "much of its glitter" as it came nearer, as those whose forefathers "sought rest and repose far from the maddening clang of the main drag" were being penalized by prohibitive rates. Milling Service There is scarcely an aspect of the early history of Mount Stewart with which the Bourke name is not associated, and it is therefore not surprising that Frederick's Directory for 1864 men¬ tions John R. Bourke as being the proprietor of the settlement's flour, saw and carding mills. According to the "" of 1863, the saw and carding mills were located at a milldam situated between the St. Peter 's Road and what was later the rail line to Souris . The map also indicates that Mr. Bourke 's flour mill, sited on the north side of the road, received its motive power from a second dam located on the same stream. A correspondent in the Examiner of October 26, 1885 who identified himself as "Rambler" reports observing a starch factory and woollen mills —60—