‘Carnegie’ look-alike Wellington library, dedicated to Saylor’s mom

The Wellington Branch of the County of Prince Edward Public Library looks very much like a “Carnegie” Library – those public libraries across Canada and the United States that were built with funding from Andrew Carnegie.

He would fund the building of a library with the stipulation that the town support its ongoing operations. Most Carnegie libraries, particularly those built after 1905, have a distinct look with features common across most of the buildings – open stacks, reading rooms, and reference rooms for example. The Picton Branch is an example of a Carnegie Library, but one that has been expanded three times since its original construction.

Wellington library

You would be forgiven if you assumed the Wellington Branch, too, is a Carnegie Library. In fact, it could really be called a “Saylor”, as it was funded by Parry Dorland Saylor. Much like Carnegie, he sponsored the building of the library with the stipulation that the village of Wellington fund its ongoing costs and maintenance. The building was modelled after the Campbellford Library, which is a Carnegie, explaining its appearance.

The building process was not without drama. In the collection of historic files from the period, we have a letter addressed to Parry Dorland Saylor dated October 1928 – believed to be from his friend and construction supervisor, Everett Hubbs.

In it, he writes, “Regarding a difference which I had with the Architect I feel you will bear me out in my objection. I was visiting the building the other day and I noticed they were putting in wooden steps at the two side entrances to the basement. I at once called the contractor and asked what that meant…. I at once told them to pull out the wooden steps and put in cement with safety treads. I knew you would not have the building slighted like that, I told him I would not have the wooden steps put in a pig-pen.”

The PEC Archives is a built-on addition to the Wellington Branch Library

Annie Dorland Saylor, and her favourite tea set.

There are still cement stairs leading to the basement to this day.
Parry Dorland Saylor dedicated the library to his mother, Annie Dorland Saylor, who loved the village of Wellington. Her portrait still hangs above the fireplace, along with her brown and white china tea set.

I think that both Parry and his mother would be so pleased to know that library service continues in the same location in Wellington. The library continues to be a vital hub for the community with services Saylor would have recognized (book lending, meeting space) and some that would have been surprising (ebooks, tech workshops and more).

Looking ahead to the fall, we’ll be planning a number of new programs, including a story time starting on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 10:30 a.m. and a series of tech workshops covering a diverse range of topics from AI to online privacy.

We’re also inviting people with children in their lives to answer a survey which can be found at https://www.peclibrary.org/wellington-survey/