Introduction . . .Little Pond is southwest of Souris in
Lot 56. There was a post office here from 1886 to 1913. The school district was established prior to 1880. The geographic locations of Cape Spry, also known as Spry Point, Spry Cove and Durrell Point are placed within the community. Cape Spry extends into Northumberland Strait from Lot 56. It was named by Surveyor General Samuel Holland in 1765 as Point Spry, possibly for either Sir Richard Spry (1715-1775) who commanded the
Orford at the capture of Louisbourg or for William Spry who worked with General Rollo in the preparation of fortification plans of P.E.I. Both men received land grants in P.E.I. Spry Cove is ajacent to Northumberland Strait. Locally in the 1920's it was known as MacDonald's Cove, with several MacDonald families on its north side. Durell Point extends into Northumberland Strait from Lot 56. It was named by Samuel Holland in 1765 for Philip Durell, second in command of the Royal Navy at the fall of Quebec in 1759 and commander of the North American station at Halifax in 1766. It has also been known locally as Browns Cape.
Founding families of European origin of the community included Chaffey, Cheverie, Jeffery, MacDonald, Steele and Swallow. Later settlement was made by the Blackett, Brown, Campbell, Jenkins, Lawless, MacCormack, MacInnis, Mullin and Steele families.
Five lives were lost in October 1829 when the Marchioness of Donegal from Belfast, Ireland was wrecked just off Cape Spry.
Big Donald MacDonald of Little Pond made a hasty round-trip to Charlottetown in 1863. Bishop Peter MacIntyre had arrived for the dedication of the new St. Francis des Sales church but had forgotten one of the necessities for the ceremony. MacDonald did the round trip on horseback and arrived back in his community before daybreak.
The Ark was constructed at Spry Point in 1976. It was a solar building and was designed as a "living machine". It served as a home, greenhouse and a fish farm. The design was meant to combine living and working spaces in a closed-loop year-round biological system. The produce grown inside was to supply family food and income. It was officially opened by Prime Minister Trudeau.
Most Rev. Joseph Faber MacDonald was born here. He was a Bank Employee, a Recording Artist, a Parish Priest and currently the Bishop of Saint John, New Brunswick. He was educated at St. Dunstan's University, St. Paul's Seminary and the University of Ottawa. He was ordained a priest in 1963 and served several parishes in Prince Edward Island. A talented fiddler, he co-founded the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival, in Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island. He attended post graduate studies at St. Andrew's Abbey in Bruges, Belgium. In 1980 he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as Bishop of Grand Falls, Newfoundland, serving there until 1998, when he was appointed to the Episcopal See of Saint John.
Fiddler and Recording Artist Sheila MacKenzie, was raised here.
Musician, Recording Artist and a member of the Order of Canada, Doug "Dr. Music" Riley was a resident here until his passing. A tribute may be found on You Tube.
Jessica Pellerin, the actor who played Ilse Burnley in the Emily of New Moon television series, and was Eckhart's voice in the animated feature, Eckhart The Mouse, was raised here
C. & D. Crafts & Collectibles
J. & M. Boatbuilding
Little Pond Community Centre
Ocean Front Cottage
Oceanfront Haven
Paws In the Pond
Potato Box Spices. Ltd.
St. Francis des Salles Church & Cemetery
Sally's Beach Provincial Park
Spry Cove Farms
Spry Point Wedding Planners
Twin Maples Cottage
Away from the area, just at the moment . . .
Connections to our area . . .Images from the Past & Present . . .
The Ark at Spry Point |
Copyright
Waldron H. Leard
