MacNaught History Centre

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Summerside & Area Historical Society - MHCA0005

Title/Stmnt of Responsibility
Summerside and Area Historical Society fonds

Dates of Creation
1878–2001

Physical Description
2.3 m. of textual records and other material

Bio/Admin. History
The Summerside and Area Historical Society was formed at a meeting held on 28 April 1983 at the Eptek Centre in Summerside. A proposed constitution and set of bylaws was accepted and Alex B. Campbell became the first president. The Society was formed as a non-profit organization with a purpose “of promoting and encouraging an interest in the history of the Summerside Area.” By January 1984, there were 40 individuals and 5 corporate bodies on the membership list. In June of that year, an official logo was adopted for use on letterhead and promotional literature. That same summer, the Society organized a public Historic Homes tour, and repeated the venture in 1985 and 1986. Also in 1984, the group became involved in a Canada Works Project at the Holman Homestead on Fitzroy Street. An outcome of this was the establishment of the International Fox Museum at the Homestead in recognition of the role the Silver Black Fox industry played in the local economy.

The members designed and published 5000 brochures of "A Walking Tour of Summerside" in 1985. A new tour called "Of Merchant, Fox and Sails" was produced in conjunction with an exhibit at the Eptek Centre in 1992 and was reprinted in 1997. An architectural inventory project carried out in 1994 under the auspices of the group then led by President Julie Simmons, was compiled into a proposal for a heritage preservation bylaw and submitted to City Council in October 1995. Members were re-energized again in the year 2000 when the MacNaught History Centre and Archives was opened. Through meetings, lectures, and displays the Society continues to work toward its goals with many community interests such as Eptek Art and Culture Centre, the Royal Canadian Legion, and the Wyatt Heritage Properties.

Custodial History
The items collected by the Historical Society during the 1985 summer project were placed in a cabinet at the Summerside Public Library for limited public access. The materials were moved to the MacNaught History Centre and Archives in the fall of 2000.

Scope and Content
The fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, and papers relating to the formation and operation of the Summerside and Area Historical Society. Included are materials generated by the group in its planning of several historic house tours and the publication of two walking tour brochures in 1985 and 1992. A project using a summer student in 1985 resulted in a sizable collection of photographs being amassed, principally from R. Allan Rankin who had acquired them for his book "Down at the Shore". The photos were arranged into 12 categories and the original order has been maintained with most images falling under the headings of commercial, and individuals and groups. Textual materials were also gathered at that time and later on, mainly on the subjects of fox farming, ship building, Canadian Forces Base Summerside and Holman's Island. There are various handwritten papers on the general history of Summerside and a few specific ones on the history of baseball, the Post Office, the Rotary club, and the Y.M.C.A. There are handwritten notes and photos from the 1994 inventory of heritage homes and the typed bylaw proposal for heritage preservation prepared in 1995. Other items of note include a 1928 booklet "The Island Bred Fox" by B.I. Rayner, the 1909 Holman's catalogue, an original 1878 Panoramic View of Summerside, an undated paper "Record of Ships Built and Registered in PEI 1790–1830" by Preston Ellis, a scrapbook of Barbara McGougan dated 1928–1930, a scrapbook of Lucas R. Allen dated 1942–1964, and transcribed newspaper articles about the Summerside Board of Trade from 1910–1934.

Source of Supplied Title
Title based on provenance of fonds

Dates of Creation note
1878–2001

Physical Description note
Includes 470 photographs, 20 postcards, 70 negatives, 4 maps, 2 sketches, 1 audiocassette, 4 CD-ROMs

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the Summerside and Area Historical Society in November 2000

Language of Material
The material is in English

Language of Description
English

Location of Originals/Availability of Other Formats
Approximately 130 photographs are also available as scanned images

Restrictions on Access
NO RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
NO RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND REPRODUCTION

Finding Aids
NO FURTHER FINDING AID AVAILABLE

Associated Material
Accession # 2976, McGougan family fonds, in the Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island contains three scrapbooks (1877–1899; 1901–1912; 1936) belonging to Barbara McGougan

Accruals
This is an open fonds.