Barlow’s Mills

• Founded in 1859 by John Barlow, native of Millingham, England;
• By 1877, the operation included grist, shingle, lath, carding, cloth dying, and dressing mills;
• Son William and grandsons Samuel and Bruce ran the mills until 1916 when they were sold to the Wellington Milling Co.;
• Bought in 1937 by Samuel Barlow, and his two sons, Howard and Jack;
• Operated by Jack Barlow until closed in 1965; and
• Mill property sold to the Community of Wellington; present site of Old Mills Park.

Prince Edward Island Railway

• Railway reached Wellington in 1874; station built in 1875;
• Station agents: Joseph E. Arsenault (1875-1913); J. Cyril Gallant (1913-1953); Carroll Delaney (1953-1958); Lowell Barlow (1958-1971);
• Station demolished in 1973; and
• Last train passed through Wellington in the fall of 1988: engine, one freight car, and the caboose.

 

Poirier Hotel / Richard Inn

• Originally a house designed and built by Dr. André Gallant;
• Bought in 1900 by Fidèle T. Poirier of Urbainville and operated as a hotel by his family until 1926;
• Had a stable of several horses used to drive travellers to outlying settlements;
• Hotel operated in partnership by F.T. Poirier and C.F. Gallant from 1926 to 1931;
• Bought by Faustin and Anita Richard, who operated the Richard Inn until 1969 when it was sold to Ferdinand Gallant for use as a house; and
• Damaged by fire in 1971 and demolished in 1973.

Arsenault & Gaudet

• Store built in 1900 by Joseph-Félix Arsenault, son of Joseph-Octave Arsenault;
• Bought by Arsenault &Gaudet,company founded in 1906 by partners Fidèle T. Arsenault and Emmanuel F. Gaudet;
• Installed its own Delco electric light plant in 1918;
• Edmund F. Arsenault, son of F.T., succeeded his father as company president and continued in that role until his death in 1968;
• Edmund’s sons, Euclide and Cédric, succeeded him, with Euclide serving as General Manager after his father’s death; and
• Arsenault & Gaudet closed in 1972 and the building was demolished in 1980.

 

Wellington Coop

• Wellington Cooperative Association opened for business in 1937 with Cyrus F. Gallant as its first General Manager;
• The store burned to the ground in the February 1958 fire and was replaced by the former Urbainville school;
• The new General Manager, Yvonne Arsenault, served in the position from 1958 to 1979 and oversaw the construction of a new store in 1964 and a major expansion in 1971; during most of her term, she held the distinction of being the only woman manager of a retail cooperative in Canada;
• Ernest Arsenault served as General Manager from 1979 until his retirement in 2007 and held this position when the Coop moved to Place du Village in 1990;
• Rick Arsenault succeeded Ernest and is the current General Manager.

 

Évangéline-Central Credit Union

• First organized by Cyrus F. Gallant in 1937;
• Wellington-Richmond, Egmont Bay, and Mont-Carmel credit unions amalgamated in 1970 with Léonce Bernard as first General Manager, serving in that capacity until 1986;
• Paul Richard served as General Manager from 1986 to 1996;
• The present Évangéline-Central main branchopened in 1971; the building was expanded several times over the years; the last major expansion took place in 1984;
• The Tyne Valley branch opened in 1996;
• Central Credit Union (O’Leary) amalgamated with Évangéline in 2012;
• The full-service banking establishment has 9,000 members, total assets of $146 million, and 36 employees; and
• Alfred Arsenault has served as Chief Executive Officer since 1996.

Service Stations

• The first service station, an agency for the White Rose Oil Company, was operated by Arsenault &Gaudet across the street from its store at the corner of Mill Road and Riverside Drive; it later changed to Irving Oil;
• Henry’s Garage, owned and operated by Henry (Émile) Arsenault in the 1950s, was located beside the Ellis River on the property now owned by Alyre(José) Arsenault; the building was converted into a house, currently owned by Pierre Arsenault;
• In 1957, Edward (José) Arsenault built a two-bay garage on Sunset Drive near the present Wellington Service Station; the building was destroyed by fire in 1959 and reopened in 1960 as Wellington Sales and Service, including an International Harvester dealership;
• Brothers Frank and Ivan (Arthur) Arsenault bought the Texaco Service Station in 1969;
• Donnie Arsenault operated the Wellington Irving with his father, Clifford, beginning in 1982; and
• In 1991, Donnie and his wife, Christine, bought the Texaco outlet; in 2003, they opened the Wellington Esso and Convenience Store, including theBakin’ Donuts outlet, and added a car wash in 2015; their businesses also include the next-door Wellington Service Station and D.A. Auto Sales.

 

Place du Village

• A project of the Commission Industrielle de la Baie-Acadienne;
• Included land purchase by the provincial government for the construction of Pond and Commercial Streets;
• Significant support for the project was provided by Hon. Léonce Bernard, MLA;
• Designed by architect Michel (Euclide) Gallant of Urbainville; opened in 1988;
• Major expansion took place in 1990 when the Wellington Coop was added; and
• Place du Village expanded again in 2017 when the Coop obtained a license from the PEI Liquor Control Commission to sell alcoholic beverages.