Description of Historic Place

The Canadian Pacific Railway(CPR) Station at Aroostook is a small, one-storey, wood-frame railway station, built around 1906. It is located in the village of Aroostook, surrounded by remains of other CPR railway components. The formal recognition is confined to the railway station building itself.

Heritage Value

The Aroostook station was built at the junction of two major rail lines: the New Brunswick Railway (NBR) and the Aroostook Valley Railway (AVR). CPR had acquired the NBR and decided to upgrade the Aroostook facilities to serve as a divisional point. The Aroostook station is one of the few remaining stations on either the NBR or the AVR lines. Aroostook’s status as a divisional point increased the economic activity and population of the town.

The architectural significance of the Aroostook station resides in those features which relate to its original design, including its exterior form and roof shape, and original interior finishes.

Source: Heritage Character Statement, Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Aroostook, New Brunswick, October 1991; Gwen Martin and Robert Power, Railway Station Report 054, Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Aroostook, New Brunswick.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Canadian Pacific Railway Station at Aroostook include:
-its modest, single-storey, rectangular form, with simple lines and proportions, including rectangular bays located on each side of the building
-its roof profile, characteristic of small, turn-of-the-century railway stations, including a hipped roof, overhanging eaves supported by simple wooden brackets, and a unique roof vent in the form of a three-leaf clover that decorates the north gable
-its wood-frame construction
-the arrangement of openings on all façades
-surviving original interior finishes, including vertical, floor-to-ceiling, tongue-and-groove wall covering on the perimeter walls and hardwood floors concealed beneath later finishes
-surviving original interior finishes in the men’s waiting room, including ceiling boards installed in a diagonal pattern, vertical board walls, a chair rail, a ceiling cornice, and window and door mouldings.