Prince Edward Islanders in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography

The listings of individuals who were born, lived, worked or had a career with impact on Prince Edward Islander includes 240 individuals that are listed in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Creation - by Katherine Govier

The 2002 novel Creation - by Katherine Govier, includes a character of great importance to Prince Edward Island history. Henry Wolsey Bayfield, later Admiral Bayfield played a key role in Island life. He was also an individual who functioned on a broader stage. When John James Audubon traveled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence it was with Bayfield that he traveled and therein lies the connection to Govier's novel.

Synopsis:

Running two steps ahead of the bailiff, alternately praised and reviled, John James Audubon set himself the audacious task of drawing, from nature, every bird in North America. The result was his masterpiece, The Birds of America. In June 1833, partway through his mission, he enlisted his son, Captain Bayfield of the Royal Navy, and a party of young gentlemen to set sail for nesting grounds no ornithologist had ever seen, in the treacherous passage between Newfoundland and Labrador. Creation explores the short, stormy summer throughout which the captain became the artist's foil, measuring stick, and the recipient of his long-held secrets. It is an exploration of that fateful expedition, a probing and imaginative narrative that fills in a gap in the visionary naturalist's well-documented life.

In this atmospheric and enthralling novel, Katherine Govier tells the story of a man torn between the lies he has lived by and the truth he now needs. She recreates the summer in which "the world's greatest living bird artist" finally understood the paradox embedded in his art: that the act of creation was also an act of destruction.

Harrington House - A Twice Moved Building

Harrington House is a great example of the tradition of salvaging and reusing older building by moving them to a new site. Harrington Presbyterian Church dates back to the 1864 and has been moved twice. Many people recall it as an abandoned yellow church across from the Charlottetown Airport where it sat for several years. It is currently located in Rice Point, Prince Edward Island.

An article on the building and other relocated churches was recently published in Saltscape magazine.

The main website for the property, which is a vacation rental unit, shows the interior and exterior work on Harrington House.

Lyle House Restoration

The award winning Lyle House - a restoration project in Port Hill, Prince Edward Island maintains a website of their ongoing activity in bringing back to life this important structure.

PEI Architecture

PEI Historic Places features the following Prince Edward Island historical architects:

• John Plaw (1745-1820)
• Isaac Smith (1795-1871)
• Thomas Charles Alley (1820-1900)
• David Stirling, RCA (1822-1887)
• William Critchlow Harris, RCA (1854-1913)
• Charles Benjamin Chappell (1857-1931)
• John Marshall Hunter (1881-1942)
• Edward Stirling (Bone) Blanchard, MRAIC (1886-1953)
• James Edward Harris (1886-1954)
• George Edwin Baker (1844-1928)
  

William Henry Weeks (1864–1936) - Island Born Architect

An article on Prince Edward Island-born architect, William Henry Weeks (1864–1936) indicates that:

He was an early 20th century architect who designed hundreds of buildings including many schools, banks, and libraries. He was well-known for his monumental Greek Revival neoclassical style of architecture, although he also employed other architectural styles. His offices were based in various parts of the San Francisco Bay area throughout his career. Weeks designed hundreds of structures in over 161 Californian cities, as well as several buildings in Nevada and Oregon. Many of his buildings are still standing and some are still in use.

See the article.