HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-01-27, Page 9.yr
TheEatelerr
and District
r,ge
"Foundation
is. ,bong
into
preserving the
local railway
\station.
EXETER - If this building
could talk; oh, the stories U could
tell.
Of days when people would
huddle around it's stove for
warmth. Of days when the train
was more than a mere mode of
transportation. but a quick way to
communicate the news from
nearby communities to the town -
folk of Exeter.
With .the improvements in the
automobile and highways which
allow for easy access to cornn u-
nines-tnear-andiar.she tfain'aeve-
ryday use to small town Ontario
bas been forgotten.
But members of the Exeter and
•.i;District Heritage Foundation
>,,bave decided that the Exeter Rail -
;,:way Station is not only some-
;hthing of the past but it could be-
come part of our future.
"We've nude the first
move and;we're:;happy _'with
the turnout. 11 shows a;lot
of interest."
The lural. foundation, which
credits among its many projects,
.the restoration of the Olde Town
Hall, met on Wednesday night to
see if they can determine the fate
of the wooden structure which
now sits abandoned.
More than 30 people attended
the information meeting and hs-
terted io several concerned citi-
zens who feel the station is worth
preserving.
"We've -made the .first move
and were hippy with the turnout
It shows a lot of has: est," ,said
Bob Heywood, chairman of the
foundation.
The fust step the group bas,tak-
en. is to toren a fact funding com-
• . wUee which _ will det&erminc
whether or riot it is feasible to
rave the station.
For a token fee of Si, the foun-
dation can purchase the station
from the • Goderich-Exeter Rail -
Story
nd photos by Fred Groves
'imes-Advocate Staff
way C.ompany•
Among the speakers at Wednes-
day night's meeting was Clinton
author Elizabeth Willmot, whose
book, 'Witett4nyTime was Train
Time' gives a descriptive view of
the Exeter elation.
She talked of other stations
which have been restored and of
some of the possible uses for the
Exeter station.
"Moving a station is not easy,"
said Willmot.
nal blueprint of the Exeter sta-
tion, Willmot added, "it would bc
nice if you could have it on the
line bxause it retains the atmos-
phere.,.
According to Willmot, here
have been three stations in Exet-
er's history, plus a large frame
water tower, stock pens and
freight sheds.
Just three years after Exeter be-
came an incorporated village in
1873, the railway tracks were
busy . with trains going through
Future use: She suggested . it
r,ould.be used to house an art gal-
lery or possibly a seniors centre
like the convened railway station
in Listowel.
Willmot explained there •were
16 stations along what was once
kauwnas the Lu ndun,. uron-and
Druce Railway and that Exeier,s
perhaps the only remaining one
which can be saved.
It was discussed on Wednesday
that the station may have to be
moved from its present site adja-
cent to the Co-op buildings.
"Whatever you do, do not de-
stroy the original charm of the sta-
tion," she warned.
Armed with a copy of the origi-
Huron County to London.
The present building was con-
structed in 1911 after a mysteri-
ous fire destroyed the station.
In 1896, Sir Charles Tupper,
Canada's sixth Prime' Minister vis-
ited Exeter and was greeted at the
railway -station.
Lack of grants: While both the
provincial and federal govern-
ments have been eager to assist in
funding historic projects, it ap-
pears as though the Away „well
has run dry.
Exeter Administrator Rick Hun-
dey said on Wednesday that all
traditional sources of grant money
no longer exist.
"That station is important to Ex -
"What ever you do, do not
destroy the original charm
of.,lhe station."
eter but it's not regionally or pro-
vincially significant," he said.
Hundey said under a Federal
Community Futures program, Ex-
eter may be able to receive some
funding if the station was able to
create some sort of wealth.
This could bc accomplished ei-
ther trough the creation of jobs to
restore the station or once re-
stored, would house a rent -paying
tenant.
Heywood said the idea of restor-
ing the station has been on the
foundation's agenda for a couple
of years now and hinted it could
become a building which would
once again generate some revenue.
The foundation currency col-
lects rent from Ellison Travel in
the Olde Town Hall which, along
with other rental arrangements in
the hall have been able to pay for
the upkeep of tie Town Hall in-
cluding tie installation of a new
hoof.
"We hate io.see a .burden un the
local Taxpayer with the operation
of the railway station," said Hey-
wood.
Wednesday's meeting was a step
in the direction to save an historic
landmark. It was also a night when
89 year-old Exeter resident, Her-
man Foster, rcrnernbered buying
two train tickets at the Exeter sta-
tion on June 18, 1929. his wedding
day.
e