‘KUDOS’ TO TOWN FOR SAVING ‘HERITAGE’ TRAIN STATION
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
GRAVENHURST — History buffs, rail and transportation advocates are lauding a town decision this week to preserve the old Railway Station — with much-needed repairs to its three roofs and window replacements.
Work should start soon on the Ontario Heritage-designated triplex.
After a clarion call went out to Gravenhurst residents this winter to come to the rescue of iconic structure, nervous friends of the train station held their breath fearing it was the end of the line for the century-old heritage building. Now it’s a sigh of relief.
One of only a handful of similar vintage structures in town, it has been a pioneering portal into Muskoka and gateway community’s past for 145 years. And is the last of three train stations once in town (Muskoka Junction and the Wharf: see more below).
It helped build the town as a social and economic centre, welcoming in settlers in the mid-19th century, taking delivery of goods and shipping out lumber and finished wood products like war boats.
German prisoners of the Second World War marched into town after getting off the train.
And long-suffering supporters like heritage expert Colin Old of the Gravenhurst Heritage Society, which has been advocating on its behalf, couldn’t be more pleased today.
He told MuskokaTODAY.com that the new shingles, eves troughs and window painting are the first step he hopes in keeping alive a vital strategic landmark out of private hands and the threat of wrecking ball.
“Kudos to the town for maintaining ownership and living up to its heritage obligations,” he said.
Gravenhurst’s town council has been grappling with what to do with the vacated main building for more than a year after its latest tenant hit the rails.
Early in 2020 the town posted a survey online to assess public interest in continued municipal ownership and/or investment in the station.
At Tuesday’s online council meeting, a staff report said that of the 235 responses, 73 per cent indicated clear support for town ownership.
A motion at the July 21 meeting to approve $160,000 for roof and window replacement and exterior painting was approved.
And a real estate professional will be hired to help find a long-term tenant.
Interestingly, noted Old, that “in discussion no mention was made of the station functioning again as a passenger rail facility.” And “little emphasis was given either to the return of Ontario Northland buses to the building.”
Old wonders: “Why not?
“Citizens must advocate for precise objectives.”
Meanwhile 380 people have added their names to a petition initiated on Change.Org to preserve the Gravenhurst Railway Station.
A concerted effort is being made by a group called North Eastern Ontario Railway Network (NEORN) to bring back passenger rail. They say Gravenhurst is a major component in the execution of this plan.
Metrolinx and the Ford government are looking to expand public transport in Ontario.
Old says a Gravenhurst town councillor went to Toronto for consultations with provincial transportation minister Caroline Mulroney.
He says: “It makes little sense for Gravenhurst to lose its station when the possibility of the return of passenger rail connections is real and society looks to do things better.
“To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got (lost) till its gone.’”
TRAIN STATION HISTORY:
Historically, heritage advocates have saved the Opera House, the Gateway Arch, the Islander and Cherokee Wheelhouses, S.S. Segwun, Church of Our Lady (Southwood) and The Narrows Lighthouse.
The current train station, officially opened in 1919 by the Prince of Wales, future King Edward VIII, sits unoccupied and with roof and window issues.
The tri-building station complex is municipally owned and was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2012.
The advent of the railway to Gravenhurst was instrumental in the success of settlement, trade and the lumber and tourist industries.
The town’s first train station was at the Muskoka Junction at the intersection of Muskoka Road and Main Street, just south of the Shopper’s Drug Mart.
Today’s station was built for the Grand Trunk Railway to replace the original 1875 structure that succumbed to fire in 1913 (and may have initially opened as early as 1916).
In 1923 it became the property of Canadian National Railways and more recently it served as a modal transportation hub for Ontario Northland trains and Ontario Northland buses.
The Gravenhurst Taxi business occupies the second structure, and the Gravenhurst Veterinary Services is the third.
In 2019 the Coffee Station café and railway museum closed its doors leaving the principal building without a tenant.
The Gravenhurst Railway Station is one of only three still extant that could serve passengers on what was originally the Northern Extensions line connecting Barrie to North Bay.
It is a classic “hip-roof” style frame structure with brick overlap and extended overhanging eaves. Its architecture is representative of early 20th century stations in Central Ontario.
Huntsville’s old station is similarly located next to the tracks downtown, and is currently in use only on a temporary basis for alternative rental purposes.
The train station at South River is also a basic, functional structure.
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