Many of the village’s most important buildings have disappeared from the landscape.  A prime example is the once-bustling railway complex which included the following: the Canadian National Railway Station; the Acadian Producer’s Coop warehouse; the old butter factory; Raphaël Arsenault’s potato warehouse; a livestock shipping yard; the feed mill and barn; and three storage buildings belonging to Arsenault&Gaudet.

All structures associated with Barlow’s Mills are gone, except a part of the grist mill.  Arsenault &Gaudet’s store and service station are gone; the Poirier Hotel / Richard Inn as well.  The former Frank I. Gallant house, once the home and office of Dr. Mark Delaney, was demolished recently to make way fora community park.  Other historic buildings, for example, the F.T. Arsenault house, the Samuel Barlow house, and the United Church Manse, have been significantly altered over the years, losing much of their original character and charm in the process.

The buildings described below are not meant to be a complete list of the village’s oldest buildings.  They are included here because they are of historic importance and because they have remained largely intact for one hundred years or more.

Joseph-Félix Arsenault House

• Built in 1897 for Joseph-Félix Arsenault and his wife, Gertrude Cormier, to plans drawn by Dr. André Gallant;
• In his book, The Historic Houses of Prince Edward Island, author H.M. Scott Smith writes “The gaiety and colour of Acadian architecture is quite evident in this fine house in Wellington”;
• In 1907, the Arsenault family left Wellington for the United States and the house passed through a number of owners;
• It was bought by Napoléon Arsenault in the mid-1940s; his son, Sylvère, and his wife, Élizana, raised their family of nine childrenthere;
• It served as a doctor’s office and the village funeral parlour for a time; and
• The J.F. Arsenault house was lovingly restored by Claudette and ThéodoreThériault after they bought it in1986.

 

Emmanuel F. Gaudet House

• Built in 1914 for Emmanuel F. Gaudet and his wife, Mannie Cormier, to plans drawn by Dr. André Gallant in four-square Island “fox house” style;
• Foreman-carpenter was Gil Gaudet of Saint Nicholas, assisted by Cajetan Arsenault of Mont Carmel;
• F. Gaudet died in 1949 and his wife in 1960; their daughter, Yvonne, lived in the house until her death in 1990;
• Jean-Paul Arsenault, grandson of E.F. Gaudet and Mannie Cormier, lived in the house with his wife, Elva, and three children from 1979 until 1990; and
• The E.F. Gaudethouse is presently owned by Moira McGuire, Jesse Francis and their family.

Edmund (Fidèle) Arsenault House

• Built in 1917 for Edmund F. Arsenault and his wife, Rosella LeClair, to plans probably drawn by Dr. André Gallant in four-square Island “fox house” style;
• Foreman-carpenter was Gil Gaudet of Saint Nicholas;
• Fédora Arsenault, daughter of Edmund and Rosella, lived in the house with her first husband, Wilfred (Émile) Arsenault, and with her parents until they passed away; and
• The house is presently owned by Imelda (Euclide) Arsenault, grand-daughter of Edmund and Rosella, her husband, Raymond Gallant, and their family; it is the only century house in the village that is known to have remained in the same family.

Methodist and United Church

• The Methodist Church was built on land donated by John Barlow, using lumber sawed by Barlow’s Mills, and was dedicated in 1888;
• The first couple married in the new church were Florence Boates and Samuel Barlow;
• In its first years of operation, the church was used for religious services by other Protestant denominations, but this practice ended in 1895;
• Wellington Methodist joined the United Church of Canada in 1925 following unification between Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches;
• The United Church manse was purchased in 1928 and served as the Minister’s residence until the 1990s; and
• Hillside Cemetery on the Goodwin Road was dedicated in 1947; prior to that, deceased members of the Wellington church were buried in Union Corner, Victoria West, Tyne Valley, and Bideford.