Great George Street in Charlottetown is one of the most historically significant streets in the country and has been designated a National Historic Street. Charlottetown is quite lucky to have such an important street and celebrating it is very fitting. Running from the waters edge up to province house, this is the path that the Fathers of Confederation walked back in 1864. Along this historical route you will see period buildings, 100+ year old elm trees, St. Dunstan’s Basilica, the Great George Inn and Province House.
The Great George Heritage Walk is a 2014 legacy project. This development was spear headed by the project champion Kevin Murphy. Partnering on the project are PEI 2014 Inc., the City of Charlottetown, Kevin Murphy, the Gray Group and CADC. With an approximate value of $160,000 the development includes a life size bronze sculpture of two of the fathers of confederation as well as 4 interpretative panels along Great George Street.
The bronze sculpture was created by Canadian sculpture Nathan Scott of British Columbia. It features John Hamilton Gray, one of the PEI delegates, as well as John Hamilton Gray, one of New Brunswick’s delegates. No, that’s not a mistake, interestingly two of the fathers of confederation had the exact same name. The bronze work took place over a 10 month period and was installed in September of 2014.