PARSONAGE

Margate first appeared as the head of a Methodist circuit in the year 1858. Some time after this date the Parsonage was erected at Mar- gate Corner. This building still stands today and is the present home of Ellsworth Champion and family.

In 1905 the people of the Margate Circuit decided to build a new parsonage in Kensington.

The M. F. Schurman Co., Ltd. built the parsonage and was first occupied in March of the year 1906, during the pastorate of Rev. H. S. Young.

FOX RANCHING

Fox Ranching: It was in 1880 that Charles Dalton, of Tignish, a trapper and dealer in furs, in company with a friend, Robert Oulton of Alberton, conceived the idea of catching black foxes from dens and exper- imenting with the breeding of the black and silver foxes. The reason for selecting the black ones was, that he always received more money for his black pelts than the red ones. So the industry began and by 1910, six com- panies monopolized the fox industry of the Island. That year Mr. Dalton . received $2500. for one fox pelt. Prices soared for awhile and there was a mad rush to form companies and buy a pair of foxes and get rich quick. In 1913 some people paid $10,000 a pair for the silver black animals and sold them for $35,000.

Around 1920 was the first foxes in Margate. A company of six or seven men bought pairs and from this it grew. George E. Brown was one of this early company, followed by C. C. Baker. These two men had large fox ranches and gradually began to specialize in the breeding of different types, namely: the black, silver and platinum foxes and exhibited them at Fox Shows in Ch’town. George Brown was the first from Margate to exhibit foxes at the Can. Nat. Exh. in Toronto. Others followed in the fox industry in Margate, until nearly all property owners had a ranch of their own. This was after the boom was over.

The fox boom made many people rich, but many others invested their savings and were made poor.

The styles of the nobility changed and the business fell. By 1950 there were no ranches left in Margate.

Today there is a bounty of $2.00 on the animals because they steal the chickens and eat the eggs of game birds.

To date, Edwin Brown, son of George E. has a few foxes.

CATTLE

In the herd competition, June ,21st. to October 31st., 1912, the win- ner for Prince County was Wm. L. Johnson, Margate (Kensington factory)

who had seven cows. Gross lbs. milk 28271, milk per cow 4038 and per cent of fat 3.78.

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