Charles Ramage Prescott (January 6, 1772 – June 11, 1859) was a merchant, horticulturalist and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He represented the town of

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 1818 to 1820. He was born in Halifax, the son of Jonathan Prescott and Anne Blagden. He entered business in partnership with William Lawson. Prescott married Hannah Whidden in 1796. Prescott prospered during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

through ownership of ships supplying the British military and by shrewd trade. He retired from business in 1811 selling his wharves and warehouse complex on the Halifax waterfront to

Enos Collins Enos Collins (5 September 1774 – 18 November 1871) was a merchant, shipowner, banker and privateer from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the founder of the Halifax Banking Company, which eventually was merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce in ...

. The following year, he settled on a country estate called Acacia Grove in Starr's Point near Port Williams in Nova Scotia's

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a Trough (geology), trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the B ...

. In 1814, he married Mariah Hammill after the death of his first wife. He was interested in the development of fruit trees, owning extensive orchards, importing fruit trees from Britain, Lower Canada and the United States and raising more exotic fruit in hothouses. Prescott, who often shared his stock with other growers, is credited with introducing many of the apple varieties commonly grown commercially in the province in the years that followed, including the

Gravenstein Gravenstein (Danish: ''Gråsten'', meaning "graystone", after Gråsten Palace) is a triploid apple cultivar that originated in the 17th century or earlier. The fruit has a tart flavor, and it is heavily used as a cooking apple, especially f ...

, which became a provincial favourite. He was president of the King's County Horticultural Society and vice-president of the Nova Scotia Horticultural Society. In 1825, Prescott was named to the province's

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, serving until 1838. He died at his home at the age of 87. His restored home is now the Prescott House Museum, part of the

Nova Scotia Museum Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and speci ...

system.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, Charles R 1772 births 1859 deaths 19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Agriculture in Nova Scotia