Description of Historic Place

The C.N. Station at Railway Avenue is a Municipal Heritage Property comprising a single lot on Railway Avenue in the Town of St. Walburg. The property features a single storey, wood-frame train station constructed in 1922.

Heritage Value

The C.N. Station at Railway Avenue is valued for its role in the development of the community. The announcement that a branch line would be built through the area caused a village to form around this site in 1919. The railroad linked the community to a trans-national transportation network that made St. Walburg a regional hub. This station was completed 1921 and quickly came to symbolize the railway’s importance to the community. Although the station was closed in 1982, it served the area as a community centre and art gallery and is presently being converted into a chuckwagon interpretive centre. It stands as a landmark in St. Walburg.

The C.N. Station at Railway Avenue is also valued for its architecture, which reflects standard railway station design. Canadian National Railways, like most railway companies, employed a series of standardized plans to reduce startup costs. This standard fourth-class Canadian National Railway station was designed to handle both people and freight in small communities.

Source:

Town of St. Walburg Bylaw No. 6-82 as amended by Bylaw No. 14-88.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the C.N. Railway Station at Railway Avenue lies in the following character-defining elements:
- those elements of the station that reflect its association with the community, such as its location on its original site;
- those elements of the station’s architecture that reflect its use as a CNR station, such as its wood-frame construction, positioning of the window and door openings, the interior room partitions, size, massing, gableroof and CNR company colour scheme.