John. A. Macdonald (1815 - 1891)

John. A. Macdonald, who became Canada’s first prime minister at Confederation, began the study of law in 1830 under George Mackenzie, a prominent Kingston lawyer.  Three years later he came to Hallowell (now Picton) to manage the law practice of his cousin, Lowther P. Macpherson, who was in ill-health.  During his stay here, Macdonald became the first secretary of the Prince Edward Young Men’s Society in 1834 and served as secretary of the Prince Edward District School Board.  The latter position constituted his earliest experience in the field of public administration.  Macdonald returned to Kingston in the summer of 1835 where he set up his own law practice.

Location

44.00743°N, 77.14187°W, in front of the Naval Marine Archive, at 205 Main Street, Picton.

Notes

-    A statue of Macdonald, ‘Holding Court’, by Ruth Abernathy used to stand on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road from this plaque, but it was removed into storage in 2021.
-    Hallowell became part of Picton in 1837.
-    Another Prince Edward County site associated with John A. Macdonald is the mill at Glenora, where he lived with his family before going to Kingston.