Description du lieu patrimonial

The CNR Station is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying a 0.3 ha parcel of land on the north-eastern corner of the Town of Maidstone. The designation applies to a two-storey, wood-frame, former railway station that was built in 1905 and moved to its current location in 1990. The property also features twelve non-contributing buildings, four non-contributing structures, four non-contributing landscape features and non-contributing antique machinery, all of which comprise the Maidstone Museum complex.

Valeur patrimoniale

The heritage value of the CNR Station lies in its association with rail transportation in Maidstone and area. As with most communities in western Canada, Maidstone was founded during the intense period of railway branch line building which took place during the early-twentieth century. Constructed by the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) in 1905, the CNR Station includes areas for entry and departures of passengers and freight as well as designated spaces for tickets sales, fuel storage and residences for railway employees. In this role, the CNR Station became the link between the community and the outside world. Following the nationalization of the CNoR in 1918, the station was operated by Canadian Government Railways until 1923, when the federal government consolidated public railways by establishing Canadian National Railways (CNR). The station continued to operate as a CNR station until rail passenger service to Maidstone was discontinued in 1977.

Heritage value also lies in its architecture. Built according to the CNoR’s standard plans for a third class station, the CNR Station is typical of those built to serve medium-sized towns. The building features characteristics common to third-class stations, including its wood-frame, two-storey construction featuring a hip roof with broad overhang supported by curved brackets.

Heritage value also lies in the CNR Station’s status as a local landmark. One of the oldest buildings in the town, the CNR Station is the central building in the Maidstone and District Museum, a complex of buildings which conserves and displays early life in Maidstone and District. The Museum is utilized for a variety of community social and cultural events and activities and is adjacent to Maidstone’s sports fields.

Source:

Town of Maidstone Bylaws 9-89 and 3-90.

Éléments caractéristiques

The heritage value of the CNR Station lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the building’s association with rail transportation in Maidstone and District, such as the spatial arrangements of the buildings' interior, the wicket and desk of the former ticket sales area and the railway platform on the exterior of the building;
-those elements that reflect the building’s third-class railway station architecture, including its distinctive hip roof with broad overhangs supported by curved brackets, grouped, rectangular, dormer windows highlighted with surrounds, and its two-storey, wood frame structure;
-those elements that reflect the CNR Station’s status as a local landmark and one of the oldest buildings in Maidstone, such as its location within the Town of Maidstone.