Plaque honours Scottish pioneer

Ceremony held in Scotchfort for Capt. John MacDonald

Parks Canada held a plaque unveiling in Scotchfort on Friday to commemorate a Scottish noble who played a lead role in encouraging Scottish settlement in P.E.I.

Capt. John MacDonald of Glenaladale left written records of this early period in the history of the province.

He was responsible for recruiting, transporting and ensuring the necessities for settlement for the largest number of settlers in the province in its early years as a British colony. MacDonald’s tenure as a proprietor is an example of the struggles between the landowning class and the colonial authorities.

MacDonald was recognized as a person of national historic significance during a ceremony in Scotchfort with members of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

In 1772, MacDonald founded the first settlement of Scottish Catholics in P.E.I. (then Saint John’s Island) when he bought Lot 36 (20,000 acres). Lot 36 includes Blooming Point, Tracadie, Scotchfort, Fort Augustus and Auburn.

In 1780, when lands were seized by the colonial government and secretly sold, MacDonald led a long, tenacious campaign for proprietor’s rights through his campaigns in print, correspondence and personal meetings with authorities.