Description of Historic Place

The Acadian Fishermen's Co-op, located in Abrams Village, is a two storey wood frame vernacular style fish plant built in 1938 for the Union of Fishermen of Egmont Bay.

Heritage Value

The Acadian Fishermen's Co-op is valued for its architecture, its importance to and historical associations with the Acadian community, its association with the co-operative movement and the fishing industry in Prince Edward Island, and as a symbol of co-operation in the Evangeline Region.

Originally the Union of Fishermen of Egmont Bay Packing Plant, the core of the building was constructed in 1938. Located in Abrams Village, it is a product of the Antigonish Co-operative Movement, which was introduced to Prince Edward Island by J.T. Croteau and Father James A. Murphy of St. Dunstan's University, and regional librarian H. Bramwell Chandler. A more modern and more successful co-operative practice, it sought to help improve economic conditions and provide the means for people to take control of their economic future at a time when the co-operatives of an older generation had begun to fail.

The movement was quick to take hold among Acadians, and in 1954 the various fishermen's co-ops of the Evangeline Region united to form the Acadian Fishermen's Co-op Association Ltd. Based out of the plant in Abrams Village, the union led to a rapid growth in business, and as a result the plant underwent enlargements to its original core. Following the expansion in activity at the site, the roof was raised and an extension built on the west elevation toward the south circa 1960, and in 1971 a single storey addition was built onto the east end. In 1985, the wharf along the south side of the original plant was expanded, and today it rests on concrete rather than on its original cedar posts.

By 1971, the Acadian Fishermen's Co-op Association Ltd. had become so successful that the original fish plant was replaced by a more modern establishment situated nearby. Since then, the original plant has been used for storage, with the exception of a small store that does business in the east end addition built that same year; however, it remains an important landmark and a testament to the success of the co-operative movement in the Evangeline Region.

Heritage Places files, Department of Education, Early Learning & Culture, Charlottetown, PEI
File # : 4310-20/A50

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Acadian Fishermen's Co-op is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the location of the fish plant on its original site 250 feet from the shore
- the wooden hatch door on the second floor south elevation
- the original openings for the six-paned windows on the second floor of the south elevation
- the original openings for windows on the second floor north elevation
- the three double wooden exterior door openings on the north elevation of the 1938 core
- the moulded trim above some windows
- the wood shingle cladding
- the wood shingle roof
- the simple, steep pitch of the roof
- the gabled ends of the structure
- the three ventilators and brick chimney along the spine of the roof
- the distinctive roofline at the west end
- the lower, nesting roof along the northwest corner
- the wide eaves
- the long sides along the wharf to facilitate loading and working
- the overall significance and rarity of the fish plant as a surviving example of the co-operative movement from the 1930s