The railway arrived in Summerside in the 1870s, and with it a brand new railway station. That station, however, is long gone, replaced in 1927 by this larger and much more functional depot. The design of the building was apparently a collaboration of CNR architect, Mr. Crudge, Summerside contractor Percy Tanton and Charlottetown architect, C.B. Chappell. The result was this 132 by 32 foot depot.
The railway was originally named the Prince Edward Island Railway and turned out to be a much more costly venture than the Island could finance. The debt incurred in its construction was the primary reason for Prince Edward Island's joining Confederation in 1873.
The Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) was absorbed by Canadian National Railway (CNR) in 1919, so this station had always been a CNR station and never a part of the PEIR.
Passenger service was discontinued by the CNR in 1969 and rail service discontinued entirely in 1989, and by 1990 the station was boarded up. It fell upon the Rotarians of Summerside to launch a campaign to have the station restored and repurposed into the public library. They were entirely successful in this endeavour and the station, as the Summerside Public Library, is once again one of the hubs of the city.
In 1991, the Rotary Club led a successful campaign to make the building a permanent home for the town's public library. The provincial government acquired the property in 1994 and entered into a lease in 1995 with the group known as the Friends of the Rotary Regional Library. In April 2000, the Friends purchased the railway station and the lot on which it stands for $1.00. The City of Summerside assumed the costs of operational funds in November 2003 and purchased the property in 2005.
From Historic Places Canada
On the walls of the library are several murals depicting the railway history of Summerside, while plaques surrounding the building relate the history, as well.