The 1864 Charlottetown Conference / La Conférence de Charlottetown de 1864

English: , Late in the summer of 1864, two events descended upon the city of Charlottetown. One was a circus; the other, a political conference. Of the two, it was the circus that captured the attention of Islanders. But it was the conference that would have a lasting impact as one of the defining moments in Canadian history., As you stand here, take a moment to look out across Hillsborough Bay to Charlottetown Harbour. Place yourself in the shoes of Finlay MacDonald, the lightkeeper in 1864, and imagine the sense of curiosity at seeing three different vessels steaming their way towards the Island's capital. He would not have known that aboard these ships were delegates from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada (Ontario and Quebec), coming for a conference on Maritime Union, but which quickly changed to a meeting about the idea of Confederation; nor would he have known that he was seeing history in the making, and that he was a part of it, as the nation of Canada was being conceived mere miles away., Now look behind you. This lighthouse, built in 1845, was envisaged by some of the same minds who met in Charlottetown in 1864, and a host of other individuals instrumental in shaping the Islands' history. What you see is not merely a lighthouse - it is a legacy. The Fathers of Confederation are credited with "building better than they knew". The same could be said of the fathers of Point Prim Lighthouse., By the time of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, the Point Prim lighthouse had been serving its purpose for nearly twenty years. Though geographically removed from the meetings, it nevertheless boasted connections., . Isaac Smith, its architect, had designed the Colonial Building (Province House), which played host to the gathering;, . Two of the Island's delegates, George Coles and Edward Palmer, and later Thomas Heath Haviland Jr., a delegate at the Quebec Conference, had all been shareholders in the Prince Edward Island Steam Navigation Company, and are today regarded as Fathers of Confederation (William Henry Pope, another Father, was the son of Joseph Pope, a leading figure in the company);, . The steamships Heather Belle and Princess of Wales, responsible for transporting the delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, were operated by the Prince Edward Island Steam Navigation Company, which had all but dissolved in 1847 shortly after succeeding in having the lighthouse built, but which was reformed under new management in 1863/64., Keeper of the Light . Finlay MacDonald , Like Point Prim Lighthouse, Finlay MacDonald could lay claim to founding fathers of his own. Named to the position of lightkeeper in 1857 and at his post in 1864 during the Charlottetown Conference, he was the grandson of Findlay MacDonald, who came to Prince Edward Island in 1803 aboard the Dykes as part of a group of Scots known as the Selkirk settlers. These Scots settled in the Belfast area at the behest of Thomas Douglas, the fifth Earl of Selkirk, and their numerous descendants quickly spread over much of the eastern end of the Island and beyond, founding many of the communities that exist today. Many people, both here and abroad, can trace their lineage to this pioneering group of settlers., George Coles (1810-1875) , A dominant figure in Island politics, Coles co-founded the Liberal party, and was the first Premier of Prince Edward Island, responsible for passing the Free Education Act, obtaining Responsible Government, and universal suffrage. He was a delegate at the Charlottetown Conference, and then again at the Quebec Conference., Edward Palmer (1809-1889) , A key player in the Island’s Conservative party, Palmer would hold such ports as Premier, Solicitor General, and Attorney General, and was also a Chief Justice in the Island's Supreme Court. He was a delegate at both the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences., Thomas Heath Haviland, Jr. (1822-1895) , Instrumental in orchestrating the Island's entry into Confederation in 1873, Haviland was a prominent politician, a mayor of Charlottetown, a Lt. Governor, and a Senator. He was a delegate at the Quebec Conference in 1864. ,