Description of Historic Place

The PEI Preserve Company is a large, rectangular 1 ½ storey, single gabled, wood shingle-clad building with a covered verandah and distinctive red metal roof. The building is picturesquely situated on the south side of the New Glasgow bridge overlooking the River Clyde in the rural community of New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

The PEI Preserve Company in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island is a rare example of a building with important ties to the agricultural, industrial and economic history of the province. The PEI Preserve Company is a well-known and established business which now plays an important role in the tourism sector in PEI.

Built in 1913 to replace an 1894 cheese and butter factory that was destroyed by fire in 1911, the PEI Preserve Company was originally a dairy and creamery. Ideally located by the River Clyde, it was a commercial centre and served a large area. Area dairy farmers -- upwards of 125 individual farmers -- would bring their milk to the creamery where it would be turned into delicious butter and cheese. Until 1930 both cheese and butter were produced here, with cheese production ending shortly thereafter.

From 1891, groups of farmers organized and attended meetings which led to a cooperative PEI Dairy Association. The Dairy Act enabled farmers to establish and finance butter and cheese factories they could supply and control. By 1903 there were 52 locally owned dairy plants operating throughout the province. Prior to the early 1880s, butter and cheese would be termed "dairy made" meaning made on the farm rather than in a dairy or creamery, which was known as "creamery butter" and "factory cheese".

Some of the cheese and butter makers to work at the New Glasgow dairy building over the years were: M. Hazelton, Charles A. Stevenson -- butter and cheese maker and manager of the New Glasgow Dairy for 25 years, William Taylor, Arthur Bryenton Dickieson, Abram Buote, Preston Campbell, Mort Larkin and later his son, Ralph Larkin.

The Heather brand of butter was produced here in the 1950s. Roland Larkin purchased the building and the business in 1975 and installed new equipment which tripled butter production, allowing almost 1 million pounds of butter to be produced that year.

The New Glasgow Dairy and Creamery wound up operations by the mid-1980s. The building was purchased by Bruce and Shirley MacNaughton in 1987, effectively saving it from demolition. The MacNaughtons modified the building for use in expanding their PEI Preserve Company, established in 1985. Here the manufacturing of jams, preserves, and more evolved into a tearoom, shop, restaurant and event space. In 2003, a 40-foot wing addition of a 125-seat dining room to the south elevation, allowed a larger audience to experience PEI products and the beautiful location. The increase in capacity allowed for hosting events and larger groups including bus tours. Additional pavilions and gardens have been added to the site, enhancing this well-loved and widely known attraction. In 2022, Adam and Marsha Doiron assumed ownership of the popular business and property.

The PEI Preserve Company continues to be valued for its importance to the rural economy of the province, as a rare example of this type of industrial building and for its historical associations with agriculture, industry and more recently, the tourism industry. The PEI Preserve Company is an important asset in the landscape of New Glasgow.

Heritage Places files, Dept. of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/P50

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the PEI Preserve Company is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the building
- the pitch and slope of the various rooflines
- the wood shingle cladding
- the size and placement of the multi-paned windows and doors
- the verandah on the south elevation

Further contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- the picturesque location in the rural landscape of New Glasgow, overlooking the River Clyde
- the large, manicured grounds, trails and gardens adjacent to the property
- the "Prince Edward Island Preserve Co." sign above the verandah by the front entrance