Over two decades before a public library was established in Port Arthur, then Prince Arthur’s Landing, there was the Mechanics’ Institute. The Institute began in 1876 would put on classes and operate a reading room with books for leisure and for learning. In 1907, Port Arthur's Town Hall burned to the ground, resulting in the loss of many early historical records. Luckily, our microfilmed newspaper collection gives us glimpses into how the Mechanics’ Institute operated and how it transitioned into a municipally run Public Library.
It began modestly in 1876, operating out of a single room in the school house. Through numerous renovations and additions, that school house would become Port Arthur Central School, now Magnus Theatre.
The reading room was the central focus of the Institute, with its opening collection categorized into History and Biography, Voyages and Travels, Science and Art, Poetry, Fiction, and a miscellaneous section that included more non-fiction. Some familiar works that made up this initial collection included the Canterbury Tales and Faerie Queen, the Iliad and Odyssey, Gulliver's Travels, Oliver Twist, and A Tale of Two Cities.
In addition to books, the Mechanics’ Institute also hosted fundraising events to improve its services. A year after opening, "An Entertainment" was held at the Queen's Hotel. This benefit went to support Institute initiatives. Another fundraising event was held in September 1878, was an excursion on a steam ship to Spar Island to see the mining activity happening on the island in person.
From 1877 to 1884 the institute moved locations at least four times: the Park Street Fireman’s Hall, the engineer’s office at Canadian Pacific Rail, Prince Arthur Landing's new Town Hall, finally to the waterfront Fire Hall. Unfortunately, by 1888, it appeared as though there was no longer a regular presence of the Mechanics’ Institute in the community and local residents wrote the newspaper, inquiring about the Institute's faded presence.
Interest in re-establishing the Mechanics' Institute, renewed in 1889, thanks to the Teachers' Association. The committee began with an annual fee for members at a rate of $2 per year, offering a reading room, book loans, and evening classes in English, Commerce, Mechanics, and the Arts. There were 250 volumes remaining and many other books scattered around town. A meeting was soon held in the Fire Hall to begin the new era of the Mechanics’ Institute. They discussed setting up the new reading room in the Meeks Block and Jason Meeks was made the president of the board. The committee also placed ads in the paper, asking community members to return books to help with re-establishing the Institute’s collection.
Yet another location change came in 1897. The Institute operated out of a building on Park Street, neighbouring Council Chambers. The building itself may have been referred to as the Brotherhood House, run by a group named the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. While information is hazy at this point, the Mechanics' Institute does appear to remain an independent entity throughout this time period. The library had two rooms in this location and the Fort William Daily Times Journal stated at the time that “everything is being done to contribute to the comfort and convenience of members and the public”.
Port Arthur Town Council soon took over the Institute's operations after its final move to the Wiley Brothers building. In 1900, with the municipality becoming responsible for the The Mechanics' Institute, a name change soon followed and the Port Arthur Public Library began.
Stay Tuned for more blog posts on the history of the library as a part of our Waverley 75th anniversary celebrations. If you would like to know more on the history of the library systems in what is now Thunder Bay, please email research@tbpl.ca.
References and Further Reading
- Prince Arthur’s Landing and Port Arthur, Ontario Library Newspaper References. Compiled by Frederick Brent Scollie, 2019.
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, Mechanic’s Institutes.
- City of Thunder Bay Heritage Registry; Designated Property No. 7, Central School 10 Algoma Street South
- City of Thunder Bay Heritage Advisory Committee, Self-Guided Historical Walking: Waverley Park Neighbourhood
- Thunder Bay Sentinel, Port Arthur Weekly Herald, and the Fort William Daily Journal. Various editions from 1876-1900.
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