Description of Historic Place

The McCord Museum is a Municipal Heritage Property located in the Hamlet of McCord within the Rural Municipality of Mankota No. 45. The property features a wood-frame, two-storey former Canadian Pacific Railway Station built in 1928 and situated at the base of the main street, slightly north of its original location. The property also features two associated outbuildings.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the McCord Museum, lies in its association with railway transportation in McCord. During the station’s period of operation from 1929-1970, the railway was the main lifeline for the community, serving as the depot for both passenger and freight traffic. Symbolic of the importance of the railway and station to the development of McCord, the main street emanates from the station. The station was also a vital communication link for McCord residents, being the only location in the hamlet for the receipt and dispatch of telegram communication. After its closure as a station, the building was purchased by the community and has housed the local museum since 1972.

Heritage value also resides in the building’s architecture, which is a example of the CPR’s ‘Plan 16A’ a standard company design used for numerous Third-Class stations of the period. Dating from 1928, the year that McCord was founded, the station is significant as one of the oldest structures in the hamlet. The efficient design combined space necessary for station operations, such as waiting room, office and freight room, as well as living quarters for the station manager on the ground floor and second storey. Distinct architectural features, including, the curved braces that support the picturesque bell-cast roof and the oversized dormer embellished with half-timbering, make the station a landmark in a community comprised of mostly vernacular structures.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Mankota No. 45 Bylaw No. 02/88.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the McCord Museum resides in the following character-defining elements:
-prominent situation at the base of the main street adjacent to the railway right-of-way and its original location;
-exterior features that identify it as a ‘Plan 16A’ standard design, such as its two-storey, rectangular plan; hip roof with broad overhang and flared eaves; curved braces supporting the eaves; oversized dormer with gable roof; rough-cast stucco and half-timbering in the gable peak of the dormer; wooden drop siding and dual course shingle cladding painted in the original redish-brown colour; sliding freight room doors; wooden double-hung windows with multi-pane upper sash and transoms (first storey); doors with multi-pane glazing;
-those additional exterior features that relate to the property's association with the railway, such as the wooden timetable;
-those interior features that relate to the property's association with the railway, such as the interior configuration comprised of a waiting room, office, heated room, kitchen, living room and freight room on the ground floor; two bedrooms in the second storey; wicket with metal grill; exposed structural features and unfinished surfaces in the freight room;
-additional interior features, such as the fir mouldings and wooden strip strap-work ceiling;
-the site's original outbuildings, including two original detached privies of straightforward design with gable roof and drop siding.