The Bog

Charlottetown’s Lost Black Neighbourhood

The Bog was a neighbourhood in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, historically a Black community. Located on marshy, undesirable land, at its peak, 100 Blacks called it home. Today, there is no trace of it. However, descendants of the Bog still live on island and are working to keep the story alive.

First established in the 1780s and unlike Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island’s Black population grew almost entirely from the arrival of enslaved peoples.

In 1812, Samuel Martin, a former slave known as Black Sam, petitioned the government three times for land to establish a Black community. He lost to James Bagnall, a white man who was one of Prince Edward Island’s first newspaper printers. Bagnall apprenticed with his brother-in-law William Alexander Rind, King’s Printer of the Royal Gazette, and Miscellany of the Island of Saint John, before returning to Charlottetown in 1804 to establish The Royal Herald.

Most of the inhabitants of the Bog, were of low-economic status and the area’s back alleys developed a reputation for illicit activity. A school was built in 1848 and was one of the most progressive schools in the area. Unlike schools in other parts of Atlantic Canada, the Bog School, was integrated with both Black and white students, mainly due to the composition of the neighbourhood. While living in the Bog was harsh and residents suffered from racism, it developed a strong sense of community

Though the Bog itself has vanished, its history remains in the lives and memories of its descendants. Remembering this neighbourhood and the struggles and resilience of those who lived there ensures that the Bog is not lost a second time.