The Craigleith Heritage Depot is a museum, library, tourism and community hub serving The Blue Mountains, Ontario in partnership with The Town of The Blue Mountains Public Library and is the last remaining station standing on Canada's first long-line railroad. It is located on the corner of Highway 26 and Grey Road 19 on the south side of Georgian Bay. Erected in the 1880s, the Craigleith Heritage Depot was originally a train station called Craigleith Station, then a restaurant called The Depot, currently it is a museum and an adjoined public library. Displays in the museum showcase the history of the Petun First Nations, Craigleith Station, Blue Mountain Pottery, the Township of Collingwood, the Mary Ward (ship), fossils found in Craigleith, the local apple industry, Craigleith Oil Works, Osler Castle, local war memorabilia, and old newspaper articles. Some of the many exhibits currently in storage include Canada's largest private collection of railroad documents and one of the world's largest cigar-band collections.
History
Train station
The Northern Railway of Canada acquired the parcel of land that The Craigleith Heritage Depot currently occupies from Sandford and Andrew Fleming in 1872. Sandford Fleming was one of the chief surveyors for the railway and he persuaded his father Andrew Fleming to donate the to the railway. The lot is located on a Native trail surveyed by Charles Rankin in 1834. By September 1872, the Collingwood to Meaford branch of the Northern Railway (aka the North Grey Extension Company, or North Grey Railway) was operating, and by 1881, five trains were arriving at Craigleith's platform stop each day.
In 1882, the Northern Railway company was purchased by the Grand Trunk Railway. The Craigleith Station building was constructed from local timber and included at the time a modern feature in railway design, the rounded turret. There are only two turreted stations left in Ontario, with Craigleith being the only one in its original state. The station's dwelling and waiting room was constructed in 1889 with sill foundation, shingle roof, frame and dimensions by , height . The addition's diameters were by , height . The tower was diameter, height . The shed was by , height . In 1898, the stable was built with frame, shingle roof and dimensions of by , height . The addition was by , height with a platform constructed in 1898. Inside the station there were separate waiting rooms for men and women as well as living quarters for the stationmaster and his family. The train conductor lived on site with his wife and family.
In 1860, Edward VII, son of Queen Victoria, travelled to Canada for a visit. Almost every station between Toronto and Collingwood had erected spectacular floral arches beneath which the prince passed in his open observation car. In 1974 when a special excursion of hundreds of railway fans retraced the route taken by the prince, a member of the planning committee suggested a revival of the floral arches, however only Craigleith decided to put up the arches. In an attempt to hold back the lilac blossoms, they were stored in a local apple storage plant. On the evening before the train trip, post diggers went to work to dig holes for the arches and accidentally severed the cable which controlled the railway signals for miles. Warning bells and red lights went out of control for the next 12 hours. In addition, a heavy rainstorm during the night destroyed the Lilac Arch. No towns have been persuaded to participate in the revival of the floral arch since.
Phillis Gertrude Wilson was born at the depot in 1909. Her grandfather was the track master George Wilson. Helen Speck Gibson was also born at the depot on February 23, 1922, when her father, Alan Speck was the stationmaster. In the 1960s, Dr. Sandford Goodchild used the depot as a cottage and after rail service ended, the station was purchased by a former mayor of Collingwood who also used it as a cottage for many years.
Presently hung on the wall is an original document from the General Roadmaster dated May 6, 1902, outlining the wages of the railway station workers. The foreman at the Depot received $45.00 per month. All regular section laborers received $1.20 per day. The foreman rates covered all services performed, there was no allowance for overtime.