Montgomery Homestead at Fox Point (”New Moon”)
Address: end of Montgomery Rd., Malpeque
When the Montgomery family immigrated to Prince Edward Island, L. M. Montgomery’s great-grandfather, Hugh Montgomery settled at Fox Point, Malpeque. During Montgomery’s lifetime, her Aunt Emily and Uncle John Montgomery lived at the homestead, and Montgomery spent a winter with her Aunt Emily in Malpeque when she was 11 years old.
This house is believed by some to be the “original” of New Moon. [1] (See also The Geography of New Moon) In The Story Girl, the tale of “How Betty Sherman Won a Husband” is based on the true story of Montgomery’s ancestors, Donald Montgomery (”Donald Fraser”) who lived at Fox Point, and his sweetheart Nancy Penman ( “Nancy Sherman”), who lived across the bay at Bideford.[2]
The house was abandoned and on sale when I visited in 2004. The Malpeque Historical Society, a local organization who has converted the Fanning School (where, incidentally Montgomery attended briefly during her stay in Malpeque [3]) into a museum in Cabot Park in the 1990s, has held interest in this historical landmark. [4]
The Emily of New Moon TV series was filmed nearby, at Cabot Park, Malpeque.
[1] Ruth Campbell of the Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush was raised by Montgomery’s Aunt Emily at Fox Point. According to A Journey Home, her family traditions claim that New Moon was based on Aunt Emily’s house. Interestingly, in The Gift of Wings (footnotes), Ruth Campbell recalls that Aunt Emily hated L. M. Montgomery and refused to speak of her or her books.
[2] Information from Edna Cudmore, a Penman descendant
[3] The Gift of Wings, footnotes
[4] Thanks to Nicholas Foran for the information via email in 2008
Montgomery Homestead at Fox Point, photo by L. M. Montgomery
Montgomery Homestead at Fox Point, photo by lmm-anne.net, 2004
View of Fox Point from water, photo courtesy of Nicholas Foran
