Christ Church

The church is valued for its well preserved Gothic Revival style; its association with the Yankee Gale; and for its contribution to the community.

This site was originally associated with the Travers family who used the place as a cemetery. When Hannah Gerhard Travers died in 1850, she was buried on a high point of land on the Cape overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In October of 1851, a massive storm known as the Yankee Gale drowned many American fishermen who were fishing in the waters off Prince Edward Island. Some 90 vessels were wrecked and 160 men died. Three of them washed ashore at Kildare Capes and were buried in the Travers family graveyard. A dozen more bodies were later found along the coast and interred here. In 1995, a large granite monument was erected as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the storm.

The Rev. Robert W. Dyer was the first Anglican priest to arrive in the area in 1859. The first church on the site was constructed by 1866. This was the first Anglican church in Prince County. It was destroyed in a fire on August 18, 1923.

The parishoners decided to purchase the Methodist Church in Montrose which was no longer being used. In 1924, it was hauled over the ice on the frozen Montrose and Kildare rivers to the sea and then along the shore until it was placed in its current location. Spurgeon Jeffery was in charge of this amazing feat.

Today, the church is a landmark in the area and is used each year for regular Sunday services in the summer months.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8

File #: 4310-20/A21