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Major Events of Tignish
The Great fire of Tignish A disastrous fire, which wiped out a large portion of the buildings in the community, occurred on September 1,1896. The blaze started around 1:30 p.m. in the carriage shop owned by Mr. Kinch. By 3:00 p.m. that same afternoon, the village itself was almost completely destroyed. According to one source, "the wind was blowing briskly from the southwest... the whole village was like a tinderbox and the flames quickly sprang from roof to roof until in a short space of three hours the whole village was a blackened ruin."( Journal-Pioneer, Feb.22, 1961) Sixty-two buildings in all were burned and 14 families rendered homeless. The loss was estimated at about $125,000.00 and the insurance covered $35,000.00. Some of the buildings that were destroyed include buildings that belonged to Peter Kinch, I.S. Chaisson, Dr. Murphy, A.J. Bernard, John Carter, Theodore Bernard, Patrick Hogan, Charles Dalton, Edward Hackett, M.P. John J. MacLellen, J.Albert Brennan, Wm. Carruthers, John Walsh, Joseph E. Richard, Duncan Shaw and J.H. Myrick's, who lost their entire block and most of their goods. Among the buildings that survived the fire was the parish church of St. Simon and St. Jude. Built in 1859, its steeple gives Tignish its architectural and spiritual focus. Tignish Centennial On July 19, 1899, a day of prayer, fasting and thanksgiving was conducted by residents of Tignish to commemorate the arrival of the Centennial of Tignish. There were trees planted around the church for the occasion, guns fired to signal the beginning of the festivities and a brass band playing under the baton of professor Florence Pitre. The church was decorated elaborately with an arch at the entrance, and various inscriptions in Latin were displayed on banners at the altar. As well, the society banners of the "Enfants de Marie," the "Dames de la Sainte-Famille," and the "l'Assomption de Tignish" were displayed. At 9:00 a.m., on July 19, 1899, His Lordship James Charles MacDonald, fourth bishop of Charlottetown, entered the church and began the celebration with a high mass service. Following mass, a centennial banquet was attended by residents of Tignish and special guests, including the Lieutenant-Governor with an entourage of about 60 guests. Toasts were offered, following the meal, by Rev. Samuel Turbide, curate at Tignish and organizer of the centennial celebrations. The finale of the centennial celebrations was a huge torch procession and fireworks. It was estimated that 7,000 people attended the centennial celebrations in 1899. One important document produced in the Centennial Year was L'Impartial Illustré. This newspaper was an offshoot of P.E.I.'s first ever French-language newspaper, L'Impartial. L'Impartial Illustré was published in part English and part French on the printing press of the newspaper L'Impartial on the occasion of Tignish's first Centennial. Train Wreck in Tignish 
The Tignish Train wreck occurred on February 21, 1932. This event was
a most tragic one due to the loss of life and
injuries incurred. It happened at a spot called Handrahan's Cutting,
located a mile and a half from the terminal in Tignish. The wreck occurred during a fierce
snow storm that had been raging for days.
Express train No. 33 that night was on route when it slammed into Freight train No. 211 that was stalled in a thirteen foot cutting. It was around 2:00 a.m. when the snow shovellers heard the train coming. Few of these men were able to escape, and unfortunately, three of the men did not survive that wreck. Both the conductor and the brakeman were seriously injured, and the engineer also did not survive the impact. A relief train was sent out from Summerside carrying a doctor and many nurses. These people assisted in caring for the injured and bringing the more seriously injured back to the Prince County Hospital. 
The coroner's jury brought in a final verdict finding the Canadian
National Railway guilty of negligence with the deaths of the three
snow shovelers. It was found that train No.33 had issued a warning
that train No.211 was stalled on the tracks not more than 200 yards
away, but the latter train had continued to move anyway.
Although trains are no longer used on the Island, the railways are still in existence; they have now all been converted into a walking trail called the Confederation Trail. Along the Confederation Trail in Tignish, there is a commemoration to the Great Train Wreck of Tignish. To View the TRAIN WRECK SONG Click Here Time-Line 1799 - Arrival of the eight Acadian families and the founding of Tignish. 1802 - Birth of Sylvain-Ephrem Poirier, first Acadian priest of Prince Edward Island who was ordained in 1828. 1811 - Arrival of the first two Irish settlers in Tignish. 1844 - Peter MacIntyre becomes the first priest of Tignish. 1859 - 60 - Construction of the St. Simon and St. Jude Church, the biggest structure in the village at the time. 1866 - Construction of the lighthouse at North Cape. Today it is the site of the Atlantic Wind Test Site and the longest natural reef in North America. 1868 - Construction of the "Notre Dame des Anges" convent for its congregation, the sisters of Notre Dame. 1882 - Acquisition of the pipe organ by the St. Simon and St. Jude Church, the 129th masterpiece of Louis Mitchell of Montreal. 1893- 1915 - Publication of the weekly newspaper L'Impartial founded by Gilbert Buote. 1896 - Spectacular fire in Tignish where 62 buildings were burned to the ground. 1911- 1913 - Building of the Tignish Post Office with the help of Senator Murphy and François J. Buote. 1919 - Great War Veterans Association formed in Tignish. 1923 - Creation of the fisherman's cooperative, the first of its kind in Canada, with the help of notary Chester MaCarthy. 1930 - Construction of the Dalton Center by Sir Charles Dalton and Robert T. Oulton. 1932 - Train accident where four persons lost their lives and many others were injured. 1941 - First shipment of Irish Moss from P.E.I. was shipped by Myrick and MacIntosh to the U.S.A. 1948 - Tignish Health Committee, chaired by Gerald Handrahan, manager of the Tignish Co-operative, organized the purchase of Dr. J.A. Johnston's home for resident Dr. S. Dubicanic. 1967 - Tignish parish of St. Simon and St. Jude Church built a Parish Centre. 1968 - Tignish Centennial Community Sports Arena heavily damaged by fire. 1970 - Gerald Keough opened a Boys and Girls Club in the new Parish Centre; also, a Senior Citizen's Club was formed in Tignish. 1970 - Restoration of the Pipe Organ at the church. 1972 - Artificial ice was laid in the Centennial Community Arena. 1973 - The Island telephone exchange at Tignish converted to dial after 62 years as a switchboard; residents of Tignish were issued a postal code; Tignish Co-operative Health Association Ltd. was formed as 60 people became chartered members as shareholders; the official opening of the first Health Centre Co-operative in Atlantic Canada. 1976 - Inspector Malcolm McInnis of the R.C.M.P. brings the Musical Ride to his hometown of Tignish to help in celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion. 1978 - Establishment of the Co-operative Club Ti-Pa, the first co-operative historical society of its kind in Atlantic Canada; Tignish Normalization Co-op opened their new workshop building on Haywood Road. 1989 - Construction of the elementary school of Tignish. |