Phone Service ,

In 1890 the citizens in Southport and area placedconsiderable pressure on government to provide them with telephone service. The Telephone Ex- tension Act, introduced on July 12, 1891, provided for a line from Charlot- tetown to Belfast. Under the act, government agreed to subsidize the line by $250. per year for 15 years, with the stipulation that a permanent under- water cable link from Charlottetown to Southport be installed as soon as

possible.

This cable was placed by the Anglo-American Telegraph Company in late 1891, with the first telephone or toll station being installed in the residence of S. Kennedy. Shortly thereafter the line was extended to George Carver’s residence in Pownal, and as far south as Belfast.

It appears that Aubrey Mutch, a large dairy farmer, and the local doc— tor, Dr. George Dewar, were early telephone customers in our area.

The cable was severed on September 30, 1901 by a steam dredge belong- ing to Hillsborough Bridge contractors; the cost of repairs totalled $129.97.

Following completion of the first Hillsborough Bridge in 1905, the telephone company provided additional lines to the area.

In 1922 Mrs. Neill (Lettie) MacKinnon, then a young bride, moved into the area. Daughter of the Belfast telephone agent Mrs. J. Jardine, and a trained operator herself, Mrs. MacKinnon became the Hillsborough agent in late 1922. She faithfully served her customers until she retired in 1964; at that time the franchises of all privately-owned telephone services were taken over by the Island Telephone Company.

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