Shediac Railway Station
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Shediac Railway Station, located on Belliveau Avenue in Shediac, is the former Canadian National Railway Company station located near the old railroad in the eastern part of town. This small stone station was built in the Craftsman style at the beginning of the 20th century.
HERITAGE VALUE
The heritage value of the Shediac Railway Station as a local historic place resides in the fact that its architecture is typical of the small Craftsman railway stations in rural and semi-urban areas of New Brunswick. It was built in 1900 according to plans supplied by the engineering department of the Canadian National Railway Company, under the supervision of Acadian architect Albert Sincennes from the Moncton office. It is a beautiful specimen of a Craftsman railway station characterized by a simple one-storey massing in cut stone. The exterior has retained its original architectural integrity.
The Shediac Railway Station is also recognized for the crucial role it played in the region’s economy, trade, and tourism. Goods such as lumber, boxed lobster, potatoes, and various agricultural products were exported through this railway station, and it was also important for the local tourist industry, since Shediac has been one of the most popular beach resorts in the Maritimes since the last quarter of the 19th century. Many people from Moncton used to take the train to Shediac to enjoy the beaches in the area.
The Shediac Railway Station also has heritage value because of its historic role in the development of rail transportation in eastern Canada, and particularly in New Brunswick. The second railway line built in the Maritimes was inaugurated in Shediac in 1857, and it made Shediac one of the major port and railway towns in eastern Canada at the time.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The character-defining elements of the Shediac Railway Station include:
- one-storey rectangular massing;
- symmetrical placement of openings;
- cut-stone exterior;
- hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves on all four sides;
- hipped dormer;
- decorative wooden brackets supporting the eaves;
- decorative woodwork on the windows and doors;
- brick chimney.
From Historic Places Canada