The Geurts Family
The Geurts Family
When the Geurts Family — Caspar, Monique, Britt, and Nout — moved to PEI from the Netherlands in 2013, they fell in love with the Victoria Cottages property immediately. Caspar, a skilled heritage carpenter, led the restoration of both the historic home and the cottages, and in the summer of 2016, the Geurts welcomed their first guests to Victoria Cottages.
The history of this property, however, goes back much further than the early 21st Century.
Victoria by the Sea
Victoria itself was founded by James Bardin Palmer in 1819. Palmer was a lawyer and agent for the Earl of Westmoreland who was engaged in the drive to bring settlers to North America. Palmer’s son Donald set about creating a grid pattern on the Palmer estate, a pattern which remains active today in the form of Victoria’s streets.
Located seaside, Victoria grew steadily to become a fishing and shipping port of note. Trade with Europe and the West Indies began to boom, and as more settlers arrived, drawn by work opportunities, so too did the needs of the village. Soon the village could boast a hotel, general store, bank, fox farm, and eventually even its own hockey team, the Victoria Unions.
The village remains home to fishing and agricultural interests, with tourism a significant facet of its makeup. Restaurants, artisan shops, outdoor excursions and the state-of-the-art Center for Aquaculture Technologies are welcome additions to the village.
The Palmer
& Wood Families
The Palmer Family, Victoria’s founding family, built a home here on the Victoria Cottages property in 1827, and called it The Recess. Destroyed by fire in 1843, it was rebuild as The Recess II in 1854. In 1910, having fallen into disrepair while Palmer was in the Klondike, the building was once again rebuilt, this time as The Recess III, and in the Queen Anne Revival style. In the mid 1850's, Palmer's son Donald set up the village streets in a grid pattern, which remains unchanged today.
Sold in auction to the Wood Family in 1929, it was renamed Dunrovin, and operated as one of Prince Edward Island’s first tourist homes, including the guest cottages, by Kathryn (Kay) Wood and her husband Howard, for more than fifty years.
Kay, who passed away in 2007 at age 100, was well-known locally both as a tourism operator and as a writer. In addition to the newspaper column she wrote for many years, she coordinated the publication An Historical Compilation of Victoria by the Sea, Our Legacy and Trust. She was an active contributor and leader in community affairs.
Today, the Geurts Family is pleased to share with you the historic nature of the property originated by the Palmers and to forward the tradition of welcoming guests that began with Kay Wood.
While in Victoria by the Sea
Dining
Doing
Location
Victoria by the sea is halfway between our capital city of Charlottetown, and our second city, Summerside. That’s only 20 minutes away in either direction from all that both have to offer.
Of course, Prince Edward Island is also a golfer’s paradise. We have more than 400 fairways closer than you can imagine. Our courses have been designed and played by some of the worlds greats. Interested in finding out more? Visit golfpei.ca
