HISTORICALLY SPEAKING WITH ED COLEMAN: Pioneer builder Charles Wright deserves more recognition
Ed Coleman is a regular columnist for the Valley Journal Advertiser. Photo by FileArticle contentThere are no monuments or plaques marking his accomplishments and his name is practically forgotten today.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentYet in his time, Charles H. Wright was a pioneer of electric power generation in western Nova Scotia, built some of the finest stone and brick churches around here, and set up the very first service station chain in the province.Article contentArticle contentHe was a master builder who started as a ship’s carpenter in Canard and moved on to construct buildings around the province that still stand today.Article contentArticle contentWright (1882-1929) is noted for teaming up with another famous Nova Scotia businessman – R. A. Jodrey – to establish a company that brought early electricity to the Annapolis Valley and other areas of the province.Article contentWright’s career as a builder and pioneer is profiled in a book published in 2005 by his granddaughter, Daphne Frazee, of Gaspereau.Article contentFrazee was the guest speaker at the bi-monthly meeting of the Kentville Historical Society on July 16.Article content Daphne Frazee is the author of three historical books with Gaspereau Valley themes. Photo by ContributedArticle contentThe illustrious but relatively short-lived career of Wright was her topic.Article contentAs Frazee noted in her presentation, Wright gained recognition as a master builder early in his career. Finishing his apprenticeship as a ship’s carpenter and after constructing several residences, Wright turned to churches, working on the Upper Canard Baptist Church in 1909, followed by overseeing construction of the Wolfville Baptist Church.Article contentThe Wolfville newspaper saluted his construction of the church, writing that his presence on a project ensured “honourable treatment and high-class work.”Article contentArticle contentThe united church in Wolfville and the two united churches in Kentville, which still stand today, are examples of Wright’s work in stone. All were constructed of unhewn red quartzite that was quarried in White Rock.Article contentArticle contentAround this time, Wright was awarded the contract for a major overhaul of the Nova Scotia sanatorium just outside Kentville and renovations on the high school in the town.Article contentThe background tale on how Wright and Jodrey teamed up to produce hydroelectricity is briefly told in the Wolfville history, Mud Creek.Article contentBy 1914, Wolfville was having problems with its generating plant that was fired by coal and oil. The Wolfville Board of Trade asked Wright and Jodrey to investigate the Gaspereau River as a possible source of electric power.Article contentApparently, after finding the river potentially was a source of power for an area much greater than Wolfville, the pair (to quote Mud Creek) “never came back to report.”Article contentFrazee said that teaming up with Jodrey was “a pivotal event in Charles’s career.” The partnership led to the construction of a generating station at Stivers Falls and formation of the Gaspereau River Light, Heat and Power Company.