MacNaught History Centre

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The house at 75 Spring Street, now known as the MacNaught History Centre and Archives, was built for a local surveyor and auctioneer named John Clay. He was for many years a Deputy Sheriff in addition to Superintendent of Public Works for Prince County and was well known and respected in the community. In November 1887, the Summerside Journal noted "Deputy Sheriff Clay has built a very fine substantial and well finished two storey house on his corner lot…". The east wing was a later addition, the year unknown.

Prior to the construction of the present building, the Clays apparently had an earlier dwelling. John Clay bought the property from George Bishop in 1877. A house in this location is shown on Ruger’s 1878 map of Summerside and also in Meacham’s Atlas of 1880.

After Clay’s death in 1900, his daughters Elizabeth (Bessie) and Caroline took in boarders for a few years. The property had been deeded to Bessie and in 1912 she sold it to Cyrus B. Morris. Mr. Morris was involved in lobster canneries and ran the Summerside branch of the N.B. Company Fred Magee Ltd., and was a manager of the P.E.I. Fox Exchange. Mr. Morris and his wife Florence sold to Theron Morrison in 1947, but lived in the house for their remaining years. Mrs. Morris died in 1949 and Mr. Morris in 1955. The house is, therefore, known as the Clay, Morris, or Morrison house by succeeding generations of Summerside residents.

In 1957, the house and lot transferred from Mr. Morrison to J. Watson MacNaught, a lawyer and politician who served four terms in the Canadian House of Commons. In 1963, he was appointed Solicitor General in the Liberal administration and then in July 1965, he became Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys. He lost his seat in the November 1965 election and the next March he accepted a government appointment as Chairman of the Dominion Coal Board. He retired from public service in 1972 and practiced law in Summerside with his son John. After Mr. MacNaught’s death in 1984, his wife Eva continued to reside in the house until 1997.

In 1998, the MacNaught house was acquired by the Wyatt Foundation and became the third property in the formation of the Wyatt Heritage Properties. It currently houses offices of the museum curator, archivist, and heritage officer. The front room on the first level is used to display changing exhibits and visitors may purchase tickets for the Wyatt Museum in the reception area. The history research area is located on the second level and the balance of the house is used for workspace and storage.

The house is a solid looking structure with two-storey, squared bay windows facing the south. The bracketing detail, cut shingles, and proportion of the bays are a study in fine carpentry and give the house a character of reserved elegance. From the balcony above the front sun porch, residents of the house could have enjoyed music from the bandstand in Memorial Square.

The building was carefully restored in the year 2000 and was officially opened as the MacNaught History Centre and Archives in October of that year.