![Photograph of a historical exhibit on L.M. Montgomery showing a package containing the Anne of Green Gables manuscript addressed to the L.C. Page Company in Boston at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley Photograph of a historical exhibit on L.M. Montgomery showing a package containing the Anne of Green Gables manuscript addressed to the L.C. Page Company in Boston at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBQY_8UpwjCJkEObQ7S1kX7CEP42EhhlsasoW8b7yD_MxDcXDKmqJtLZsa1B1xQ1eSpOdvw4PNfSDQzGR4wdtnNS1ZJ0RYC11SpDz0PezrPMUCKTu5abFJr5O2Prt3kqWpvH79W2OIS53rP0eOuXlAhXqb4rBGsCIQnOokm8h_DH0LXkvjeiif41-Lk6p/s16000/CavendishPostOffice1.jpg)
The Cavendish Post Office (also known as the Green Gables Post Office) is a modern post office and museum located in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, close to the Site of L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish Home and the Green Gables House. Step inside to view a historical exhibit called “Yours sincerely, L.M. Montgomery” to discover how the postal service played an important role in L.M. Montgomery’s life and early career as a writer. Send a letter or postcard from this post office, and it will receive a special Anne of Green Gables, Cavendish PE postage mark, adding a touch of literary magic to your correspondence.
![Photograph of the postmaster's office in the L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley Photograph of the postmaster's office in the L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOZj_QjmiEz91b9xdpm7bc4rpFqf5JZAjAUJXxrxnne4a0dQYzE4gZt_nYS0L7N-zPbHSzOjn2nPrgC3Juj60NsYbacnQgCs_-hR5tfAP2YfqhxV2wEw6yKmmCpSqCETi2QuFtu9ZPQIcH3NHW_Q-gA7YfeM4_c4lkWvBAkcV3lbn1Gm7UVBOljFaH5lD/s16000/CavendishPostOffice2.jpg)
L.M. Montgomery was raised by Alexander and Lucy Woolner Macneill, her maternal grandparents, in Cavendish. As key members of the community, the Macneill family operated the Cavendish Post Office for generations, from its opening in 1833 until it closed in 1913. As a girl, L.M. Montgomery helped her grandparents run the post office from the kitchen of their homestead. The post office was more than just a place to send and receive mail; it was a vital hub where the rural community of Cavendish gathered to share news and stories, shaping the social fabric of the village.
![History of the Cavendish Post Office and the Macneill family, part of the L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley History of the Cavendish Post Office and the Macneill family, part of the L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UoVTSnRU810c5Q82Svs5xSFyvCGoFOp4EK7LFIzXrTZP84J-UODV7kggZ4WiPxOqzqz7fPxRUeq4JaMH8tqE-qW63Spf2qyZWlJ0kG2pN1szdoanzKITigqjWMdXC8vhlm03JBNETPqhWK0HSLZoihiaOaps_3S_hUkhAnqyyL9Pe57l7dXPJVySv4Iu/s16000/CavendishPostOffice3.jpg)
After her grandfather’s death in 1898, L.M. Montgomery left her teaching post in Lower Bedeque and returned home to Cavendish to live with her grandmother. She helped her grandmother at the post office, serving as its assistant postmaster.
![L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedWzjpUw-4v-NfbQNbtLyti-KHkX7qMcdbKrFb7OWathU2oJLmQcjR8t1Tl9p8Zqhk8Iw8V77MdKOlev1qvnnWEDWAxtpKLh3kANVu54gtBSM0Fvu6XgGgvGBclrLavJ8LGHKLCE2L2maYOreEn_ik6A_obVF5QYBXtJnL8sYoQ0NsyG0asmvauzVUs7r/s16000/CavendishPostOffice5.jpg)
Having a post office in her home was fortunate for L.M. Montgomery. As a young writer who struggled to obtain paper, L.M. Montgomery wrote poems and stories on the backs of red postal letter bills. Living in the post office benefited L.M. Montgomery in another way. It allowed her to pursue her literary dreams and submit her stories and poems to publishers in secret. No one had to know if she received a rejection letter, and she could privately correspond with editors.
![Red letter bill reproductions at the L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley Red letter bill reproductions at the L.M. Montgomery exhibit at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmTvd7kHZx32AFVh-pEEXcvMDeREjni5o3_sHoIQCVkojH2oy2zniXKwVqKAT-XWxi5zF1Hk34PU1bS00XGsp7b4-ZioNXIhJLjRPJmHAju-0gm5rUq98U6iULpIGMg0K0Bkw6AJlkzx4O8GAgTKo__FDXM8xFbUTvN3NDFEtw-qi1nms23vU8FpXgwV3/s16000/CavendishPostOffice6.jpg)
In 1905, L.M. Montgomery began writing Anne of Green Gables while sitting at the end of the table in the Macneill kitchen. After completing the book, L.M. Montgomery submitted it to several publishers, and the story was rejected repeatedly. L.M. Montgomery then stored the manuscript in a hatbox. In 1907, she decided to try submitting Anne of Green Gables for publication again, and she packaged and mailed her manuscript to L.C. Page Company, a publisher based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Her perseverance paid off when L.C. Page accepted the manuscript, and Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, bringing Anne Shirley's adventures to the world and cementing Montgomery's place in literary history.
![L.M. Montgomery exhibit showing her mailing her manuscript for Anne of Green Gables to L.C. Page Publishing Company in 1907 at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley L.M. Montgomery exhibit showing her mailing her manuscript for Anne of Green Gables to L.C. Page Publishing Company in 1907 at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHC11FOp0oUmeNRtHInhSjGch0TTGMw4iYD4Ww-2aXdG48cxybgdRTOTdNFSJCu9fqdtK1cpz1F7E4-OgIUMECAJwQ_aNt81O78LmO-Sa1Z4s1LU-7UugtReLs-5Kmk8EC8NEXe9TjJtHO8pGgdQXSGG11mioP6WdE2fFa-PFMCss4lSw2cdxwTrghzAU/s16000/CavendishPostOffice4.jpg)
In the 1970s, the government planned for a new post office to pay tribute to Prince Edward Island during its centennial anniversary of joining Canada in 1873. The post office was designed to honor L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables with a special museum exhibit. A building resembling the original Macneill homestead was relocated from Rocky Point on the other side of Prince Edward Island to a site near the original Macneill homestead in Cavendish. The building was restored and decorated with authentic decorations and postal artifacts. The exhibit was designed and produced by the Canadian Museum of History in collaboration with Canada Post.
![Commemorative Canadian Anne of Green Gables Stamp at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley Commemorative Canadian Anne of Green Gables Stamp at the Cavendish Post Office in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, photograph copyright World of Anne Shirley](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmcMQ53Z_BgC5xCB7EWZn5_x4AlPZ639zDO442OR0kZNrq6t62w-7vPfMtpu-v-joWD8q6i1WfMHzHsgEOVZNNg3pgdqVDycGPgTnYFUA0H_yjl871XLjlcOIASISgGFk2PmyxWQZYRR9tQCxzFRt7UtAw681prsj4mQeB4lycYkqFzY3_z5HJFoR3Zf3/s16000/CavendishPostOffice7.jpg)
The Cavendish Post Office is a special place to visit because it played a key role in L.M. Montgomery’s life and the origin of Anne of Green Gables. Open from May through October, the exhibit also provides a look back at how early post offices functioned.
![World of Anne Shirley's Anne of Green Gables Travel Guide Banner World of Anne Shirley's Anne of Green Gables Travel Guide Banner](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2qhIBPiBmP-6_Fk4UT4U-TZDnryvJmbTZVjx7D5NLk4NC4h8P3XLTwx50sq6rAJhTVeysTLM9tW3TE_-gktEmcELUriALU_eNHDIeWPfWwL7-PVoaz9FNyoqsd2grETfxBRSSweW_iRpcd6GMJFicZxB7c5q4gv_gELDmxxTMQwR5YYkKaJ1zbVxX3Jx/s16000/AnneofGreenGablesTravelGuide-Banner.jpg)
Official Websites:
Yours Sincerely, Lucy Maud Montgomery Exhibition
Cavendish Post Office, Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island
Location:
The Cavendish Post Office
8555 Cavendish Rd, Cavendish, PE C0A 1M0, Canada.
![Map of The Green Gables Post Office/The Cavendish Post Office by OpenStreetMap](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0CvspG4TQCcoMwIa9nDt1xk220ZKbHDq5GTr9SlR_fDWkYT0Sa9W6DbPg66e6RsHK_HI3mNLVclNA2-nm0CWwy8nA-viISWs1wEGNyvSeJvrSdUeX4_DAVwO8RRv-Yuq8cLBblYRChDf918hBDxY0rwSxeFRV4EBHtd52eXR7tVdTVOKSAVrgnOP_VKG/s1600/CavendishPostOffice8-OpenStreetMap.jpg)
Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.
Map copyright OpenStreetMap.
References:
Epperly, Elizabeth R. Writing in the Kitchen: An Animation. The Anne of Green Gables Manuscript. Retrieved from: https://annemanuscript.ca/stories/macneill-kitchen-animation-writing-the-opening-pages-of-the-manuscript-3/
Hamilton, Kathleen and Frei, Sibyl. Finding Anne on Prince Edward Island. Ragweed Press. 1998.
Yours Sincerely, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Canadian Museum of History. Retrieved from: https://www.historymuseum.ca/exhibitions/lucymaudmontgomery/
Created July 17, 2007. Last updated August 7, 2024.
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