Some types of transportation that people used on PEI in the late 1800's and early 1900's were horses and buggies, carriages, sleighs, trains, ice boats, horses, walking on foot, and bicycles. Some methods of transportation, like ice boats and sleighs, were only used in the winter. Others, like horses and buggies, bicycles and carriages, were only used in the summer. Still others were used in both winter and summer, such as trains and horses.

There were two different kinds of ice boats used in PEI in the late 1800s and early 1900s: racing ice boats and transportation ice boats. Racing or sailing boats were used for racing across the ice, mostly on the Hillsborough River in Charlottetown. They had sails and looked like the ice boats we see today. Transportation ice boats were used for getting to the mainland; they looked like row boats. If there was a bad storm, the men would flip the ice boat over and take shelter under it until the storm was over.

This is a picture of an ice boat crossing. As you see, there are around five people on each of the larger boats, and three people on the smaller boats.

These are the earlier model of ice boats. They have no sails, and oars were used to propel them in water.

My picture is about men crossing the ice on an ice boat. It was used for travelling or getting across the ice. This was common around the 1890's because (when the ferries couldn't run) it was the only way to the mainland. The picture was taken in the 1890's on P.E.I. around the shoreline of the Island.

This is a picture about a group of people racing on the ice on the Montague River. Ice boats were used for racing and for travelling to the mainland and other parts of Prince Edward Island.