Description of Historic Place

This property is a mid-Victorian mansard-roofed residence, originally constructed as a train station for the Kensington Railway. It is located just west of its original location next to the Kensington railroad tracks.

Heritage Value

This Kensington train station was built in 1878 when Kensington outgrew its first station. This station was used until 1905 when a third station was built. This 1878 station house was moved in 1906 to its current location, after the new station was built in 1905, and continued to serve as the station master's residence.

The Kensington train station is an important piece of railway heritage on PEI and is important to the development of the town of Kensington. With the coming of the railway in 1873, Kensington was transformed from a small village to a centre of trade, distributing goods to surrounding communities. This train station was the second one built in Kensington within a decade. This is a reflection of how quickly the local community and economy developed. The construction of a third railway station in the early 20th century shows the continued importance of the railway to the town.

This building was ioperating as the Kensington railway station at the time when Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) was using the railway system as a child and young woman. She travelled to this building with her grandfather, Senator Donald Montgomery of Park Corner, in August 1890 to meet Sir John A. Macdonald. Montgomery recounts this meeting and her first train ride in her journals.

In 1920, a utility wing was added to the building; in ca. 1980, wide siding boards were added to the exterior; and in ca. 1995, the original windows were replaced. The former station is now a private residence, and has operated as the Station House Bed and Breakfast.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, Department of Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/S42

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of this building:

- the mansard roof
- the original window openings and door placements
- the original kitchen wing with steeply pitched roof and open verandah
- the dormer and arched window of the kitchen wing
- the chimney on kitchen wing
- the bracketing under eaves of main body of building
- the squared bay window on south elevation