Description of Historic Place

The J.C. Wilkinson's Store, located in Springfield West is a good example of an early 20th century commercial style building. It is a one and a half storey, wood framed, single gabled building.

Heritage Value

Joseph "Checkley" Wilkinson (1855-1946) was born in Margate, Prince Edward Island and learned the trade of carriage building as a young man. Wilkinson left Margate and moved to Western PEI where land was less expensive. Here he began a trade in building sleighs and wagons before trying his hand at fishing. In 1896, he married Elizabeth "Jennie" England (1866-1950). In 1912, the Wilkinsons built their general store.

In the early days of the store, Wilkinson had outbuildings filled with grain, corn and potatoes that were sold at the store. People would travel from all over Western PEI to buy their supplies at Wilkinson's store, as they carried everything needed for farming, fishing, hardware and dry goods. Checkley and Jennie had two children, George and Clara, who helped with the family business. George later inherited the store and continued to operate it with his wife, Rita. Under the ownership of George and Rita, J.C. Wilkinson's store became one of the largest and busiest in the area. In the 1950's the store was sold. In 1982, following Rita Wilkinson's death, the family estate was divided among four charities. One of the charities provided bursaries for young women who were studying to become nurses. In 2006, the Prince County Hospital created the George Wilkinson Nurses Bursary to support education for nurses at various hospitals in Western PEI.

Today, the building still operates as a general store under the name, "The Up West Market". It has survived largely unaltered, including the interior Douglas fir finishes. An exterior entry to the basement was added in about 1980 and a double door on the east elevation was replaced.

Source: Heritage Places files, Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
File number: 4310-20/J3

Character-Defining Elements

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

- the wood shingle cladding
- the simple gabled roof
- the corner boards with corner brackets
- the fancy cut fish scale shingles on wall between edges of windows and corner boards
- the two sets of double windows on first floor
- the transom light window over the front door
- the symmetrical placement of multi-paned windows on upper storey and attic
- the two large store front windows on the front entrance