Description of Historic Place

The Rosthern Canadian National Railway Station is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying a 190-square metre parcel of land on the corner of Railway Avenue and 6th Street in the Town of Rosthern. The property features a wood-frame railway station with mansard roof and freight shed, which was constructed in 1902.

Heritage Value

A symbol of a burgeoning prairie community, the Rosthern Canadian National Railway Station is valued for its association with the economic and cultural life of Rosthern and the surrounding area. In 1890, as railway companies laid thousands of miles of track across the prairies in anticipation of massive settlement, the Qu'Appelle, Long Lake, and Saskatchewan Railway Company completed its branch line from Regina north to Prince Albert. Located at mile 199.9, the station at Rosthern was built in 1902 and, like many train stations in the west, became a symbol of the optimism of a growing prairie town. In the absence of other means of transporting grain, market goods, and people over long distances, the station provided a primary business and social focal point, as well as a vital link to the larger world. Constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which leased the line from 1896 until 1906, it was sold to the Canadian Northern (later National) Railway in 1906. It remained in active use until 1981, when service was discontinued. Shortly after, the Town of Rosthern purchased the building in order to sustain its use in the community. It was adapted to house The Station Arts Centre, well-known for its western dramatic plays, art gallery, craft gallery, and tea room.

Heritage value also resides in the building's railway architecture. This combination freight-and-passenger station features typical railway characteristics, such as the large, attached freight shed with simple hip roof and bracket-supported eaves along the track side, which protected travellers and their luggage from the elements. Less typical of railway architecture, however, was the passenger section of station. With its mansard roof and single- and double-shed dormers, it is a style rarely found in western Canada, likely because of its costly and complicated roofline. The main floor included a large waiting room, an office, and a vestibule at the rear entrance, while the second floor provided living quarters for the station agent and his family. This station is one of only two of its kind built in Saskatchewan.

Source:

Town of Rosthern Bylaw No. 8216.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Rosthern Canadian National Railway Station resides in the following character-defining elements:
-features that speak to the railway architecture, such as the bracket-supported, overhanging eaves, the mansard roof with single- and double-shed dormers, attached freight shed with simple hip roof, and overall form and massing;
-elements that reflect its past role as a primary social and economic focal point, including its location and orientation on its original site.