The Temagami Station History
By Cochrane Temiskaming Museums and Art Galleries
Association
The Temagami Station was built in 1907 by the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway, now the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), an Ontario Crown Corporation.
Two years later, the new stone station's interior was destroyed by fire then reconstructed immediately. A freight building and an earlier wood frame station, later used as a restaurant, shared the platform to the north, next to a garden where 'TEMAGAMI' was spelled out with flowers. At the south end of the platform, a second garden featured a small ornamental pond. Today the stone station is all that remains.
The main floor was originally divided into three sections. A central core, with bay windows on the east and west facades, housed the railway office, telegraph and signal equipment, ticket counters and washrooms. Both the north waiting room and the south waiting room, reserved for ladies, were open to the cathedral ceiling.
Over the years the Station has undergone several alterations. False ceilings were added to the waiting rooms in the 1940's, as energy-saving measures. Following a fire in 1976, the north waiting room and office areas were 'modernized' and the Ladies' Waiting Room was used for freight and general storage.
In 1996, when the Agent retired, ONTC put out a request for proposals to operate the building. The successful proponents, Claire & Richard Smerdon, established the Temagami Station Restoration Trust, to restore the building and keep it open to the public.
The Trust has a 20 year license agreement with ONTC and is responsible for the restoration and operation of the Station. The north portion of the building is sublet to Temagami Station Enterprises Ltd., a commercial business which will operate a tourist attraction in the Station.
This company also leases part of the basement for light manufacturing of model railroad kits and souvenirs. This private/public partnership will allow the building to be open to the public year-round, free of charge.
To find out more about the station restoration project, visit The Temagami Station Restoration Trust at The Cochrane Temiskaming Museums and Galleries site: http://www.museumsnorth.org.
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