Summerside, PEI

The City of Summerside traces its roots to Loyalists who settled the shores of Bedeque Bay in 1780. One, Joseph Green, built an inn on the site, which became called "Green's Shore". Folklore tells how one spring day, Colonel Compton, a visitor from the north side of the island, remarked "why dear me, it's like a summerside here", and the name was quickly adopted. (The Summerside Pioneer, Jubilee edition, 1887) un-intentionally renaming the small settlement.
By the mid 1800's, in addition to a lucrative oyster export trade, Summerside had become a major shipbuilding and shipping center. In the early 1900's, the fox breeding boom became Summerside's mainstay and it remained the international headquarters for the industry until it waned in the early '40s.
During World War II, a training center for allied force's navigators and pilots was established just north of town. CFB Summerside eventually became the headquarters for Search and Rescue 413 Squadron until the base fell to the April 1990 federal budget axe. The site is now a successful aero-teck centre.
The Town of Summerside became the City of Summerside on April 1, 1995 by an act of the provincial legislature forcing the amalgamation of the surrounding "bedroom communities" of Wilmot and St. Eleanors, as well as large parcels of Linkletter and Sherebrooke.
Summerside has become known as the "Sports hosting capital of Canada" and is North America's leading potato exporting center.