Harvey and Velda Bertram House

The house is valued for its Gothic Revival and Island Ell style and its association with early residents of the area.

Joseph Edwin Bagnall (1850-1924) had this home built by carpenter, John Warren, in 1902. His grandfather, Richard Bagnall (1789-1857), once had a Georgian style inn on the property in 1813 which he called the Halfway House - since it was on the road between Charlottetown and Princetown (Malpeque). Bagnall also owned a sawmill and began a stagecoach service between Charlottetown and Princetown.

The Halfway House inn was the scene of protest in 1865 during a clash between the Tenant League and government appointed sheriffs. The League was set up by settlers who sought justice from the Island's colonial leasehold land system. The sheriffs' job was to collect land rents from the tenant settlers on behalf of the absentee land proprietors.

By the 1870s, with the arrival of the PEI Railway, the inn closed since traffic was now diverted from Hazel Grove.

Harold Bagnall (1894-1980) inherited the current house and associated farm from his father. In 1967, he sold it to the current owners who specialized in dairy farming.

With its well maintained Gothic Revival features and because of the property's association with important political events in the history of the Island, the home remains an important part of the Hazel Grove community.

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

File #: 4310-20/H20