A couple of years ago I had a life long dream fulfilled and I went to Prince Edward Island, Canada to see Green Gables. I had read the Anne of Green Gables books, I had seen the movies, and I had dreamed of being here one day seeing the places that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery to write the story of the orphan girl Anne.
The town is called Cavendish and it is on the central north shore of the island. There are 4 scenic drives around P.E.I., and the north one is the green gables route. As we followed the route, it took us through the beautiful countryside, passing farmlands and fishing ponds, and with every route sign bringing us closer to Green Gables we got more and more excited.
We saw the small house where the author was born and raised. Her mother passed away when she was only 2 years old so young Lucy Maud spent much of her time at family members houses while her father worked.
We saw the Anne of Green Gables Museum, which is in the home of relatives of the author and where she wrote most of her stories, that looks out over the Lake of Shining Waters. This home is filled with treasures including a large collection of personal items, letters, pictures, and journal excerpts. It has a display case full of the many languages that the books have been translated in. Lucy Maud Montgomery was married in this house in the parlor and to this day Visitors from all over the world come to this museum in order to get married in the same parlor.
And of course, we saw the green gabled house that became the backdrop of Anne’s stories. The house belonged to a family friend and the author spent a lot of time here and thinking it was the most beautiful house in the world. Lucy Maud Montgomery ended up buying the house and being a big part of preserving it just as it was and turning it into a historical site.
When she passed away, Lucy Maud Montgomery was buried in the Cavendish cemetery next to her husband. Now cemetery is adorned with an intricate iron arch memorializing the author who put Prince Edward Island on the map.
While there is plenty of kitch around the area because of the books, it has also maintained the simple beauty of the island that first inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery to write the beloved novels of Anne Shirley and her life at Green Gables.
For more on the Anne of Green Gables museum, go to:: https://annestore.ca/pages/anne-of-green-gables-museum
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