Description of Historic Place

The Emmanuel F. Gaudet house is a large, asymmetrical two-storey Four Square style home in Wellington, Prince Edward Island, picturesquely located adjacent to the Confederation Trail, the former PEI Railway line, and the stream that once powered the nearby Barlow Mill.

Heritage Value

This two-storey home was constructed in 1914, for Emmanuel F. Gaudet (1879-1949), his wife Mannie (formerly Cormier) and their family. It was designed by the local doctor and amateur architect, Dr. André Gallant. The house is symbolic of a new merchant class emerging in the early 20th century among the Acadian population. It was built by Gilbert Gaudet and Cagetan Arsenault with lumber salvaged from the vessel Irene, which had shipwrecked just off Egmont Bay.

Emmanuel F. Gaudet was a well-educated and respected businessman within the community. He attended Prince of Wales College, taught school for two years, then studied at Charlottetown Business College in 1900 before returning to Wellington to work for J.O. Arsenault, Son & Co. as a clerk. He became bookkeeper for the firm until 1906 when Arsenault and Gaudet Ltd. was formed, a wholesale and retail store. The location in Wellington employed 12 people and included millinery and dressmaking departments. Gaudet oversaw the accounting for retail goods, coal and building materials sold through the country store as well as the shipped produce that went to cities as far as Montreal. The store also built and sold caskets which Gaudet would create the nameplates for, engraving them with a darning needle. He also served as a founding member of the Thomas Aquinas Society and as a director of Prince County Hospital in Summerside.

Following Emmanuel F. Gaudet's passing in 1949, his widow continued to live in the house. The residence passed to daughter Yvonne and her husband J. Wilfred Arsenault upon Mme. Gaudet's death in 1960. Yvonne and Wilfred's son Jean-Paul Arsenault and his wife Elva Arsenault raised their family here, marking three generations of Emmanuel F. Gaudet's family to reside in the home.

The current owners purchased the property in 2002 and continue to value and maintain the historic character of the property which is a landmark in its community.

Source: Heritage Places files, Dept. of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/E4

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the home is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- The overall form, scale and massing of the residence
- The wood clad exterior
- The front elevation's protruding open verandah with square columns and plain balustrade
- The first floor bay window with pedimented roof on the front elevation; with triangular window in the pediment
- The diamond shaped window adjacent to the front entrance
- Two-storey projecting stacked bay window with pedimented roof; with circular half window in attic pediment on east elevation
- The wide eaves
- The pitch and slope of the hipped roof
- The dormers on the front and west elevations
- The size and placement of the window openings
- The open front verandah with square columns and balustrades
- The stringcourses which separate the first and second storeys and the first storey and the foundation