Description of Historic Place

The Highlands in Georgetown Royalty, Prince Edward Island is a grand 2 1/2 storey Queen Anne Revival home located on wooded acreage adjacent to the former PEI Railway line, now the Confederation Trail. The property also includes a 1930 Shingle style pavilion.

Heritage Value

The Highlands in Georgetown Royalty is an excellent and rare example of Queen Anne architecture in Prince Edward Island and is in very good condition. It is valued not only for its architecture, but for its historical associations and connection to early tourism in the province.

This property was built in 1893 for D.A. MacKinnon, Q.C. (1863-1928) following his marriage to Adelaide "Louise" Owen in 1892. MacKinnon distinguished himself as a member of the provincial Legislative Assembly (1893-1900), Member of Parliament (1901-1904; 1921-1925) and served as Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1904-1910. The MacKinnon family left The Highlands and moved to Charlottetown in 1897. In addition to his many years of public service, MacKinnon, along with his law partner, A. B. Warburton, co-authored the tome "Past and Present of Prince Edward Island" published in 1906.

The home was later purchased and occupied by John D. Knight (1835-1911) and his family. Knight was a druggist and chemist in Georgetown.

By 1930, Island-born George D. MacKinnon, owner of the MacKinnon Steel Company in Quebec, was in possession of the property. He added cottages and a Shingle style pavilion on the grounds for dances, dinners, teas and other social events and extended the back of the house converting it to a tourism establishment known as "Highlands Hotel" which operated until the outbreak of WWII. The cottages have since been removed.

Keeping close ties with his PEI roots, The Highlands became the summer residence of WWI veteran and avid trout fisherman, Rev. Dr. John Sutherland Bonnell and family. Pastor of New York City's Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and author, Bonnell who was born in Dover, PEI in 1893 entertained family and friends here. Bonnell died in Oregon in 1992.

In 1971, Wallace and Sally Rodd purchased The Highlands for a summer home, lovingly maintaining it and have since passed the property to their daughter.

The Highlands is an architectural gem which continues to be a valued heritage asset in its community and to the province.

Source : Heritage Places Files, Dept. of Economic Growth, Tourism & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/H28

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of The Highlands in Georgetown Royalty is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the home
- the Queen Anne style features: asymmetrical façade with polygonal front tower with conical roof, expansive verandah with decorative wood trim
- the original veranda posts with incised detailing, plain balusters
- the ornate detailing on the verandah with pierced circles in the bargeboard
- the medium cornerboards
- the oriel window on the south elevation
- the pitch and slope of the various rooflines
- the wood cladding including shingle, clapboard and decorative scallop-edged shingles
- the size and placement of the variously sized, multi-paned windows
- the Palladian window on the front elevation
- the stringcourses of the tower, multiple windows, various shingle patterns, dentil detailing and roof brackets
- the two oculus windows on the two storey projection on the south elevation

Further heritage character-defining elements of The Highlands:

- the location of The Highlands on a large, wooded lot adjacent to the Confederation Trail
- the extant original interior architectural features
- the 1930 Shingle style pavilion located nearby