THE POST OFFICE

Since the early 1900s, the sole existing post office in the fire district area has been located in the village of St. Peters. Prior to this, almost all of communities within the fire district area had a post office. These early post offices were usually located in a person’s home and the mail was delivered by foot or by horse and wagon. Today with courier service, mail can reach the mainland in a day; a far cry from the days when iceboats were once used to deliver mail across the ice in the Northumberland Strait.

In 1787, James Robertson was appointed by Lieutenant Governor Fanning to be Postmaster of the entire colony and was responsible to look after whatever mail turned up on the Island. There was no regular mail service on the Island at that time, only the irregular transport of mail through ships that entered and left the Island’s ports.

James Robertson was replaced by William Reid in 1789 and then by John Ross in 1798, who had the title of “Deputy Post Master" conferred on him. In 1802, Benjami Chappell was appointed Post Master of the entire Island and has often been recognized as the first Post Master of PEI. (1)

The first attempt at implementing regular mail service on the Island occurred in 1812 when tenders were called for a person owning a vessel to transport mail to and from the mainland. (2) In 1814 the first postmarking instrument was used on the Island. These early instruments were commonly made of brass or wood, because the stamping ink then available rusted steel markers. (3) In 1816, four years after the initial attempt, mail service with the mainland had been established. By 1824, iceboats were being used to transport the mail throughout the winter months.

Prior to 1827, Islanders had to go to Charlottetown to get their mail. which would be held until called for. According to Colin and Jean MacDonald, occasionally a list of uncalled letters would appear in the newspapers. (4) That year things changed with the introduction of inland mail routes. Called “Way Offices" until 1851, these routes provided not only better mail distribution for Islanders; they also provided many individuals with jobs as mail carriers. The St. Peters area fell under the “Eastern Route:” ...for St. Peter’s, Morell, and Savage Harbor to James Burke’s, near St. Peters Mill; for Naufrage, East Point, etc. to Alexander MacDonald’s, St. Margaret’s. (5) It was around this time that a postmark Stamp also appeared for ‘Saint Peters.’

In 1828, three routes had been illegally established across PEI. The “Eastern Route’ included St. Peters Road, St. Peters, Bay Fortune, and Grand River. Weekly service was provided during the summer and a “Fortnightly” one in winter. This service was illegal because, as a colony,

159