In the year 2002, the Rotary Club of Stirling was searching for its next worthwhile community project. Following their weekly meeting, the members of the club walked over to the old Stirling Railway Station which sat neglected in an isolated spot, midway between Highway 14 and the Campbellford Road. It was built in 1879 and had become a boarded up, derelict building on a collapsing foundation.
In the year 2002, the Rotary Club of Stirling was searching for its next worthwhile community project. Following their weekly meeting, the members of the club walked over to the old Stirling Railway Station which sat neglected in an isolated spot, midway between Highway 14 and the Campbellford Road. It was built in 1879 and had become a boarded up, derelict building on a collapsing foundation.
It had no electricity or water and was a natural target for vandals.
The Rotary Club first approached the Stirling-Rawdon Council with their restoration idea in 2001.It was greeted with enthusiasm and permission was granted to move the building to a more desirable location, at no expense to the municipality. The initial estimate to move the building was $45,000, which included the cost of a new foundation. As the project proceeded, the cost to complete the move and restoration escalated to over $250,000. The money was raised by the Rotary Club of Stirling over a number of years through many fundraisers and donations.
The station was moved and placed on its new foundation in late 2004, Members of the club spent many long hours working during the next three years (2005 - 2007) to complete the project. The station was repainted in the colours of the Grand Trunk Railway, reroofed, siding was replaced or repaired, windows replaced, new finials installed, a large deck with access ramps added, large meeting hall completed with washrooms and kitchen, interior refurbished and a small museum was created. The Stirling train station has an interesting history. By the early 1860s the impact of the mechanical age was being felt even in small Ontario towns like Stirling, although railways had been a fact of life since the 1840s between commercial centres along the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River route. A railway line running from Bellevillle to Peterborough and then to Toronto was proposed near the end of the 1840s. It would, however, be almost three decades before serious work was begun. By 1873 advertisements in local papers were asking for railway ties and the roadbed was being laid.
Documents show the land for the Stirling station was purchased from Benjamin C. Bush and wife in July of 1873. It is believed work on the first station building was begun shortly thereafter, but evidence supporting this theory is scant.
The first station was built in 1876 and it burned to ground on July 22, 1879. The fire was attributed to a spark from a passing locomotive, the building was quickly reduced to ashes. The reporting of this unfortunate accident indicates the present building was constructed in 1879.
The existing station, with its two-story accommodation for the station master and his family, is the only such structure which the Grand Junction/Grand Trunk erected during the early days of Canadian rail history. However, Canadian Pacific stations of similar design did exist across Canada. Now, with fires and the demolition of many old stations, the Stirling station is believed to be the only “Van Horne” design remaining in existence.
The line that ran through Stirling was known as the Grand Junction Railway until 1881 when it was taken over by the Midland Railway. On January 1, 1884 both railways were combined to become the Grand Trunk Railway. The 1 st passenger train came from Belleville to Stirling on June 15, 1877.
The 1st freight train came on June 28, 1877. A trip from Belleville to Stirling in the 188’s took 1 hr and 40 min to travel the 17.6 miles and the records from 1931 show four passenger trains per day along with 4 freight trains every day.
The railway was the primary means for moving goods and people around. It was the centre of all the towns activity. People gathered, worked and talked with their neighbours at the station.
At the turn of the century this building would have been a hive of activity. Trains would come and go, discharge passengers and freight, reload and then resume the journey to other whistlestops or villages or head for Belleville or Peterborough. Mail, lumber, machinery, clothing, coal, cheese, cattle, fruit, furniture, etc moved through the station. To the north of the tracks, cattle would be herded into box cars. Gigs, carriages, omnibuses and hotel hacks would vie with farm wagons for space.
The station master would meet each train. There would always be a commotion as passengers disembarked. The station master was the individual who knew everyone in town and could answer all the questions that may arise. We do not know who the first station master was. Some of the individuals lived upstairs and some boarded in town. The last station master was David Nunn. He and his family lived in the station.
The last passenger train to go through Stirling passed the station on January 31, 1962. It was the end of an era, although freight trains would continue to stop in Stirling until 1969. The station closed on Mar. 14, 1969 and the land was later sold to the Village of Stirling. Now the rail lines are gone; a tangible link with the past is no more.
Today, the lower level of the rejuvenated building consists of the waiting room, a ticket office (in which the station master would sell tickets, dispatch freight and watch for trains as they came into the station yards), a kitchen and the freight shed with its weigh scales. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and a large parlour room. A small bathroom also existed with a very large bathtub which had no drain. The tub was filled and emptied by bucket. Heat came from wood/coal fired pot bellied stoves and light came from oil lamps. Below the station building is a modern hall with washrooms and a large kitchen. The Station is now the home for the Rotary Club of Stirling and a hub of activity for the Stirling area. It is a fully serviced, medium sized hall which is available to both organizations and individuals.
The main floor of the station is now an antique market (3 days a week) and the 2 nd floor is a small museum depicting life of the station. Just as it was when the station was operational, the Stirling Station is now again the centre of many activities in Stirling. Enjoy!
W. R. Vaughan – Rotary Club of Stirling