Description of Historic Place

The Emerald Railway Station is a wood clad, hipped-roofed railway sation located in the rural community of Emerald, Prince Edward Island next to the former railway tracks which are now part of the Confederation Trail.

Heritage Value

The Emerald Railway Station was built in 1923-1924 to a standard Canadian National Railway design. Its construction was supervised by Superintendent George B. McEachern of Souris.

Construction of the Prince Edward Island Railway began in 1871 with the main line between Souris and Alberton completed by 1874. The County Line Station was located at the boundary of Queens and Prince counties on the main line between Charlottetown and Summerside. Originally a flag station marked the location as there was no established community at the site. However by 1878, the area had grown to a village with many newly established businesses including a blacksmith shop, general store, carriage shop, cheese factory, hotel and boarding house. The importance of the County Line Station increased in 1885 when a branch line was built to Cape Traverse and Borden, the site of the ferry crossing to New Brunswick. In 1887, the community name changed from County Line to Emerald and the station became known as Emerald Junction.

In 1917, with a new railcar ferry at Borden, all passengers travelled through Emerald to meet connecting trains to Charlottetown, Summerside or Borden. In 1918, the PEI Railway was taken over by CNR. The narrow gauge tracks were converted to standard gauge by the 1920s for the ease of loading passenger cars onto the ferry and connecting with mainland rails.

A new railway station to accommodate increased passenger traffic was under construction in August 1923 and completed in 1924. Emerald Junction with its rural location, surrounded by prime agricultural lands was a major shipping centre for potatoes to be loaded for off-Island export.

With better roads and increased availability and use of cars, railway passenger service declined and eventually ended in 1969. The rails continued to be used for freight service until 1989. In 1994, the Province of PEI purchased the rail corridor and a project to develop walking and cycling trails began and was completed in 2000. Today the 434 km main railway and branch lines form the Confederation Trail and is part of the Trans Canada Trail system.

In 1979 CN no longer required the Emerald Railway Station. In 1980, the community rallied to save the building and took over ownership. From 1982 to 1985, it was used as a display and exhibition centre, and store. Between 1985 through the 1990s, the station was vacant for periods of time. Since 2002 the Bedeque Bay Environment Management Association has occupied the former station.

In 1981, roof work, re-wiring and interior floor restoration work was undertaken, with further interior renovations in 1994. Replacement windows inserts were added in 2006, and more recently, the chimney was replaced, and exterior sections were re-shingled and painted.

Located prominently on a hill in parkland in a quiet rural setting, the Emerald Railway Station continues to be a landmark, valued for its association with the province's rail transportation history and its role in the development of the community.

Source : Heritage Places files, Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4320-20/E4

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Emerald Railway Station is evident in the following heritage character-defining elements:

- the overall size and massing of the structure
- the wood cladding : shingle on upper half of each elevation, and clapboard siding on lower half, separated by a wooden stringcourse
- the size and placement of the windows
- the size and placement of the doors
- the wood trim surrounding windows and doors
- the pitch and slope of the hipped roof with large eave overhangs
- the bracketing which support the eave overhangs
- the centrally located chimney

Other character-defining elements:

- the prominent location of the railway station on a hill in a rural setting next to the Confederation Trail