Craigleith Heritage Depot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Craigleith
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View of the depot, with the tower
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| Location | 113 Lakeshore Road The Blue Mountains, Ontario |
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| Coordinates | 44°31′30″N 80°19′31″W / 44.52513°N 80.32526°W | ||||||||||
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The Craigleith Heritage Depot is a special place in The Blue Mountains, Ontario. It's a museum, a library, and a community spot all in one! This building is super important because it's the last train station left from Canada's very first long-distance railway.
You can find it near Georgian Bay, where Highway 26 and Grey Road 19 meet. Built in the 1880s, it started as a busy train station. Later, it became a restaurant called The Depot. Today, it's a museum connected to a public library. Inside the museum, you can explore the history of the Petun First Nations people, learn about the old train station, and see cool displays about Blue Mountain Pottery. There are also exhibits on local fossils, the apple industry, and even old newspaper articles.
Contents
Discovering Craigleith Depot's Past
The land where the Craigleith Heritage Depot stands was bought in 1872 by the Northern Railway of Canada. A man named Sandford Fleming, who was a main surveyor for the railway, convinced his father to donate the land. This spot was already important, as it was on an old Native trail.
By 1872, trains were running between Collingwood and Meaford. By 1881, five trains arrived at Craigleith every day!
The Old Train Station
In 1882, the Grand Trunk Railway bought the Northern Railway company. The Craigleith Station building was built using local wood. It had a special round tower, called a turret, which was a modern design for train stations back then. Only two stations with this design are left in Ontario, and Craigleith is the only one still in its original condition.
The station had separate waiting rooms for men and women. It also had living areas for the stationmaster and his family. The train conductor and his family also lived on site.
A Royal Visit and a Lilac Arch
In 1860, Edward VII, who would later become king, visited Canada. Many towns put up beautiful flower arches for him to pass under. In 1974, when railway fans recreated his trip, only Craigleith tried to put up a lilac arch.
They stored the lilac blossoms in an apple storage plant. The night before the train trip, workers accidentally cut a cable that controlled the railway signals for miles! Warning bells rang and red lights flashed for 12 hours. To make things worse, a big rainstorm destroyed the lilac arch. No towns have tried to revive the floral arches since!
Life at the Station
Several people were born right at the depot, including Phillis Gertrude Wilson in 1909 and Helen Speck Gibson in 1922. Helen's father was the stationmaster.
After train service stopped, the station was used as a cottage for many years. Today, you can see an original document from 1902 that shows how much railway workers were paid. A foreman at the Depot earned $45.00 a month, and regular laborers earned $1.20 a day. There was no extra pay for working overtime.
Ski Trains and Tourism
The railway stop was very helpful for the growing ski industry. In the 1940s, skiers could take a 7:00 AM train from Union Station in Toronto to Craigleith Station. From there, they could ride a horse-drawn sleigh for 25 cents right to the ski hill, which is now called Blue Mountain.
The ski train service stopped in 1942 because of World War II. It started again in 1947 and continued until the 1960s. After that, more people started driving cars, so fewer people took the train. In 1991, the old railway path became the Georgian Trail, which is now a popular walking and biking path.
From Restaurant to Museum
In 1966, Ken and Suyrea Knapman bought the building and turned it into a restaurant called The Depot. They opened it in 1968 and worked hard to restore it. In 1996, they even received an award for their efforts to preserve the building.
When Mr. Knapman's health declined, they decided to sell the restaurant in 1998. They wanted to find someone who would keep the building safe and historic.
Saving the Depot
In 2001, with help from the Craigleith Heritage Committee and many people who cared about the building, the Town of the Blue Mountains bought the Craigleith Depot. Most of the money came from the town and the committee, with some help from the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust.
The plan was to turn The Depot into a heritage center and a starting point for trails. After many years of fundraising, the building was fully restored and reopened to the public as The Craigleith Heritage Depot Community Interpretation Centre. You can still see the original train station flooring inside, showing where many visitors have walked over the years!
A Library Joins In
In 2016, the Craigleith Heritage Depot teamed up with the Town of the Blue Mountains Public Library. This decision was a bit debated, but now the museum and library share the space.
There's a cool project at the Depot called Then and Now. It includes old photos and videos of local history. One video even features an interview with Mrs. Helen Speck Gibson, who was born right in the Craigleith Railway Station!
The Famous Lilac Bushes
Outside the old train station, you'll find beautiful lilac bushes. People believe these lilacs came from Scotland and were brought here by the Fleming family, who owned the land.
The lilacs were planted in 1901 by Stationmaster Wilson's wife. Some say she planted them to celebrate her husband's new job, others say they were to cover the smell of the outdoor toilets, or perhaps they were a gift. No matter the reason, they grew wonderfully around the depot.
Stationmasters and the Knapmans (who owned the restaurant) took great care of the lilacs. They even gave cuttings to people who wanted to grow their own. The Depot restaurant also held a two-week Lilac Festival!
Today, the lilacs at the depot are a famous landmark in Ontario. The road just south of the depot is even named Lilac Lane because of them.
Protecting Our Heritage
The Craigleith Heritage Depot building is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act since 2003. This means it's recognized as an important historical site and a great example of a late 19th-century train station.
The building is special because it's linked to Andrew Grieg Fleming, who donated the land, and his son Sandford Fleming, who helped build railways and even developed the idea of Standard Time we use today. The famous lilac bushes are also part of this protected heritage.
The depot was a key stop for the "ski trains" that helped the local ski industry grow. Passenger train service ended in 1960, but the building's history lives on!
