Cavendish
The real farm behind Anne of Green Gables
Green Gables Heritage Place preserves the 1830s MacNeil farmhouse in Cavendish — the real landscape L.M. Montgomery drew on for her novels, now a Parks Canada national historic site.
- Built
- 1830s, by the MacNeil family
- Protected since
- Purchased by Canada in 1936
- Managed by
- Parks Canada
The history
From family farm to national landmark
The farmhouse was built in the 1830s by the MacNeil family, relatives of author Lucy Maud Montgomery, who was born nearby and raised in Cavendish. After her 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables made the setting famous, public interest grew until the Canadian government purchased the property in 1936. Restoration work in the 1970s shaped the house to resemble its depiction in the novels.
On site
Grounds, trails and the interpretation centre
Beyond the farmhouse itself, the national historic site includes an interpretation centre and several walking trails referenced in Montgomery's writing — the Haunted Wood Trail, Balsam Hollow Trail and Lover's Lane — plus the site of the old Cavendish schoolhouse and a brook running through the property.
Nearby
Cavendish's own stretch of red shore
Cavendish sits directly on PEI's north shore, within Prince Edward Island National Park, giving visitors an easy pairing of literary history with the island's most photographed red-cliff beaches on the same visit.