Please click the links (to the upper right of this page) to read about the rich history of the Upton Farmlands. It was the home of pioneer aviators Dr. Jack and Louise Jenkins. The Jenkins built and developed the first PEI airport on their own land at Upton Farm. Louise Jenkins was the first female licensed pilot on PEI. An excerpt from this fascinating history:

“[Dr. Jenkins] had offered a part of his farm to the City of Charlottetown for an airport but received no effective response. Consequently, he built it himself. With advice from a Federal Airways Inspector, Dr. Jenkins proceeded to remove fences, trees and stone hedges until there was landing spaces in the shape of the letter L on the northern end of his farm for an airfield. The longer north-south runway was 2,880 feet and the shorter east-west runway was 1,600 feet. Both were 500 feet wide. At the southern end of the longer runway, he built an aircraft hangar which could house three small aircraft. In addition, there was a small administration building complete with an office, store room, lounge, fireplace and kitchen. With the co-operation of local authorities, Dr. Jenkins was enabled to receive the Trans-Canada Air Pageant on August 23, 1931 which was attended by 8,000 people and marked the official opening of the Upton Airport.”

Our thanks to the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, PEI Branch, for this valuable information.