Online artifacts
St. Peter’s Cathedral in Charlottetown launches digital archive to preserve history
Michael Edward’s home parish of 40 years used to be known for its lack of a cover charge. “This was a free church.” St. Peter’s Cathedral was built in what used to be the poorer part of Charlottetown in 1869. While some other churches would charge people to attend services, the Anglican cathedral and its ministers would welcome anyone who wanted to attend, the parishioner and committee member said.
This is just one of the cathedral’s stories, many of which can be found in piles of records, letters and what-have-you that have collected over the years.
These documents and artifacts used to be stored in the bell tower but were eventually moved into the basement. As time went on, concern was raised toward the preservation of the archive’s collection and how to ensure the many stories they contained would remain accessible to the public.
“Old things tend to disappear,“Edward said.
So, to cap off the 150th year since its construction, the cathedral launched a digital archive during a press event on Nov. 29. Much of the items have been digitized and published online to ensure those stories aren’t forgotten.
“This represents a story 150 years going,” Edward said.
The project started officially in 2018, receiving funding, in part, from Heritage Canada. While the physical archive has been reorganized and will continue to house its collection, the online archive now houses much of it, including transcribed documents and about 400 digitized photos.
Laura Millar, the project’s consulting archivist, said the digital archives launch doesn’t mean they’re done. The parish will continue to keep it up to date.
“It’s an enormous resource that goes well beyond the walls of the church.”
Some objects contained in the basement archive include paintings, old books and bibles, along with a set of lantern slides originating from Germany. Preserving history allows future researchers to contextualize the past, as well as cross-reference events and better understand the truth behind them, she said.
“How do we know what happened in the past if we don’t have the evidence?”
While organizing the materials was a challenge, it was also necessary to consider copyright and privacy protection laws before publishing materials online. For example, some pictures can’t be uploaded simply because they don’t have the photographer’s permission, Millar said.
Rev. David Garrett, the cathedral’s minister, reflected on the importance of remembering a community’s past in order to understand it’s present during the launch. The 150-yearold building has played a crucial role for Anglicanism on P.E.I., which the digital archive will help to continue, he said.
“The cathedral has been an extraordinary place for its entire existence.”
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey also spoke briefly during the launch event.