Queens County is located in central
Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The county is geographically divided by the
Hillsborough RiverThe Hillsborough River, also known as the East River, is a Canadian river in northeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island.-Battle at Port-la-Joye :...
's estuary, a tidal inlet which almost splits the county and Prince Edward Island. It is the richest and most populous county in the province of Prince Edward Island.
The county's geography varies from picturesque shorelines of sandstone cliffs, sandy beaches and sheltered bays on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
Northumberland StraitThe Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...
, to extensive farming operations throughout interior regions. Topography ranges from relatively flat to rolling hills in the central hill lands known as the Bonshaw Hills.
The county was named by Capt.
Samuel HollandSamuel Johannes Holland was a Royal Engineer and first Surveyor General of British North America.-Life in the Netherlands:...
in 1765 for the
queen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of King
George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, Queen
CharlotteCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
(1744-1818). As such, Queens County's county seat is
CharlottetownCharlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
, which was also chosen as the colonial capital because of its central location.
Today,
urban sprawlUrban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
extending from Charlottetown in the centre of the county is the region's most dominant feature; many rural parts of the county within the Charlottetown census agglomeration, and outside, are facing increased pressures to subdivide and develop into suburbs and exurbs.
Municipalities
- Cities
- Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
- Towns
- Cornwall
Cornwall is a Canadian suburban town located in Queens County, Prince Edward Island.The town is located immediately west of the provincial capital Charlottetown and functions as a bedroom community.-History:...
- Stratford
Stratford is a Canadian suburban town located in central Prince Edward Island.It is situated on a peninsula formed by the Hillsborough River estuary, Charlottetown Harbour, and Hillsborough Bay - a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait....
- Communities
- Afton
Afton is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Alexandra
Alexandra is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Bayview
Bayview is a community in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It lies between Cavendish, Prince Edward Island and Kensington, Prince Edward Island....
- Belfast
Belfast is a Canadian village located in southeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island in the townships of Lot 57 and Lot 58.Situated on the island's south shore along the Northumberland Strait, Belfast is predominantly an agricultural area.-History:...
- Bonshaw
Bonshaw is a small Canadian rural farming community in central Prince Edward Island, situated on the province's South Shore along the Northumberland Strait....
- Brackley
Brackley is a small rural Canadian farming community located on the northern boundary of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, adjoining the Charlottetown Airport in the neighbourhood of Sherwood....
- Breadalbane
Breadalbane is a community located in Queens County, Prince Edward Island. Its current population is 170.-History:Breadalbane was incorporated as a village in 1991. The village was named after Breadalbane, Scotland...
- Clyde River
Clyde River is a settlement in Prince Edward Island. The population of Clyde River is 618 . Clyde River is located in Queen’s County in the central part of Prince Edward Island and just 15 minutes away from the Charlottetown. The original community name was Dog River . It was named after the River...
- Crapaud
Crapaud is a Canadian village in Queens County, Prince Edward Island , North of Victoria in the township of Lot 29.- References :...
- Darlington
Darlington is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Donagh
Donagh is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Grand Tracadie
- Hampshire
Hampshire is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Hazelbrook
Hazelbrook is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Hunter River
Hunter River is a village located in Queens County in central Prince Edward Island just south-west of North Rustico. It is situated on the Hunter River....
- Kingston
Kingston is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
- Meadowbank
- Miltonvale Park
- Mount Stewart
Mount Stewart is a Canadian village located in the northeastern part of Queens County, Prince Edward Island.Mount Stewart is located at the head of the once-navigable portion of the Hillsborough River at the point where the river begins to narrow significantly.The village played an important role...
- New Haven-Riverdale
- North Rustico
North Rustico is a village located in the northern part of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.It became an incorporated municipality in 1954. The village is known to locals, as well as many others as "The Crick"...
- North Shore
- North Wiltshire
- Orwell
Orwell is a settlement in Queens County, Prince Edward Island.Canadian professor, physician, and intellectual Sir Andrew Macphail was born in Orwell on November 24, 1864. The Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation preserves his family home and its 140-acre property in Orwell as a museum, the Sir Andrew...
- Pleasant Grove
- Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish, and North Rustico
- Union Road
Union Road is a Canadian rural community in Queens County, Prince Edward Island.Located in the township of Lot 33, Union Road is one of several communities comprising a green belt surrounding the city of Charlottetown.-External links:*...
- Victoria
Victoria is a Canadian village located in central Prince Edward Island.A historic seaport, the community is situated at the extreme southwestern edge of Queens County in the township of Lot 29....
- Warren Grove
- Watervale
Watervale is a small farming community located about 20 km east of Charlottetown in lot #48 on Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was called Forgan Hill but the members of the community voted to change the name sometime in the mid-19th Century...
- West River
- Winsloe South
- York