Description of Historic Place

The Kwinitsa Railway Foreman’s Residence is a modest, one-storey wood-frame building with a gabled roof, numerous windows, and two doors on its northern façade. It is located beside the Canadian National (CN) rail lines on the Grand Trunk Pathway in Terrace, British Columbia.

Heritage Value

The Kwinitsa Railway Foreman’s Residence is valued as the only historic railway building in Terrace. It is an important representation of the early local railway, which was the backbone of development and integral to opening up northwest British Columbia to the rest of the province and the world in the first half of the twentieth century.

This building is particularly significant because it is reflective of the standards and operations of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) in northwestern British Columbia. The foreman’s residence played an instrumental role in supporting the operation of the Skeena subdivision, the rail line between Terrace and Prince Rupert; it was the home of a succession of foremen employed at the Kwinitsa station, 71.5 kilometres west of Terrace, between circa 1950 and 1970. It is unique as the only residential CNR building known to survive in this area.

The building is also valued for its interesting construction elements. Prefabricated and brought to Kwinitsa by rail on two flatcars, it is an excellent example of a purpose-built supplementary building typical of the railway industry. Its simple form and wooden construction illustrate the practical yet comfortable accommodations offered to CNR foremen and their families stationed at remote locations.

The location of the Kwinitsa Railway Foreman’s Residence in Terrace also contributes to its heritage value. Moved to Terrace by the CNR in 1972 for use as offices and a lunchroom, its relationship to the adjacent rail line maintains the building’s original context and enhances the rich and valuable railway history of the city.

Source: City of Terrace Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Kwinitsa Railway Foreman’s Residence include:

- its physical relationship to the Canadian National Railway
- its wood construction
- its one-storey gable-roofed form and rectangular massing
- its historic wooden windows and doors, and window and door openings
- its historic woodwork, including exterior drop siding and interior flooring and window trim
- surviving historic evidence of its use as a residence
- evidence of its prefabricated nature, seen in its bilateral symmetry, facilitating movement by rail
- its original paint scheme relevant to its years in Kwinitsa