Phone Service In 1890 the citizens in Southport and area placed considerable 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 Bridge contractors; the cost of repairs totalled $129.97. Following completion of the first 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. 44