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The Schurman Building
Supplies company is undoubtedly the success story of
Kensington's business history. Today, the Schurman store
is a familiar and indispensable fixture in towns across
the Island, and in Kensington especially, it is admired
as an example of the town's spirit of industry and
enterprise. The involvement of the Schurman family in
construction can be dated back all the way to the
eighteenth century. A Loyalist fleeing the American
Revolution, William Schurman made his way to Bedeque,
P.E.I., where he began two lumber mills, built small
ships, and also constructed a road to Charlottetown.
A great-grandson
of William Schurman, Maynard Freeman Schurman was born in
Freetown, Prince Edward Island in 1863. In 1888, he was
offered the position of manager with Schurman, Clark, and
Co. woodworkers and builders. However, the position only
paid two hundred and fifty dollars a year, and Schurman
steadfastly demanded not a penny less than four hundred.
Like many Islanders before and after him, he determined
that he would have to leave the Island to achieve his
ambitions. He journeyed to Colorado and accumulated both
experience and savings by working on the building of the
Colorado Midland Railway. In 1891, the Schurman Clark
company sent another offer to him in Colorado, finally
meeting his salary demands. While he was by that time
making more money in Colorado, Schurman accepted the call
back East and dedicated himself to doing business in his
Island home.
Schurman's ascent through the ranks of the company was
swift. By 1896, he had bought out the Kensington branch
of the lumber and coal business. His first contract was
for the new Methodist
church in Margate, touching off a string of successful
projects for the firm. His brother Major entered into
business with him in 1902. By 1907, the prosperous
company incorporated and bought out the largest lumber
business in Summerside, where it still has its head
office today.
M. F. Schurman passed away in 1952. The
presidency was assumed by his son Harold, who had himself
risen from within the company, serving as a truck driver,
machine operator, and plant foreman before assuming the
helm. Descendants of M. F. Schurman still own the
company.
It is unlikely that Schurman would even
recognize his operation today, as it has expanded greatly
and diversified into all areas of the construction
industry. At one point, Schurman's owned its own truss
and window-making operations and also a ready-mix cement
plant. Recently, it was involved in the megaproject of
constructing the Island's link to the mainland, the
Confederation Bridge. The stores which dot P.E.I. offer
the customer anything from furniture to lawn ornaments.
But some things have not changed: a Schurman's store
still stands on Broadway Street Kensington, ready to
serve construction needs both large and small.
Reuben
Tuplin | Dr.Donald
Darrach | James Kennedy | Russell
Champion |
Donald
MacKenzie | K.L. Waite | Other
Pharmacies
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