Our regional municipalities can do better when it comes to preserving our history. I’ve talked before how particularly in Cornwall, many rich landmarks of our past have been lost, including the old Capitol Theatre, The Cornwallis Hotel, the old post office building, the old City Hall building, and many others.
Currently, Cornwall City Council is once again facing a decision about what to do with the old Locomotive 17 that is located on the corner of Brookdale Ave. and Ninth St. It is estimated that it will take over $100,000 to repair and move the train. The price tag to save Locomotive 17 isn’t news however, Cornwall City Council has known for nearly five years know that the train was in desperate need of repairs.
Year after year the issue of Locomotive 17 comes up again, and year after year, nothing is done about it and meanwhile, this piece of Cornwall history continues to crumble into dust.
The train was originally a part of Cornwall’s public transit system. The train was owned by Cornwall Street Railway, the precursor to Cornwall Transit.
The locomotive was moved to its current location from in front of the Water Purification Plant in 2005 and in 2006, Cornwall City Council passed a by-law to give the locomotive a heritage designation.
Now, Council is considering donating the train to a museum in Smiths Falls, but of course first it has to be stabilized lest it disintegrate during transit.
The perennial problem with actually doing something about the locomotive is that while some want the historical artefact to be saved, there does not seem to be the political will to spend money to actually do it.
What should have been done, and what should be done going forward is that any time the city names a building, train, or lamppost as historically significant they should start setting aside money then, and every year after, for its continued maintenance.
The Township of South Stormont is in a similar situation with the Raisin Region Heritage Centre in St. Andrews West.
In 1979 the then Cornwall Township named the building as historically significant. Now here we are in 2021 and the building has been left to rot for decades.
The Township of South Stormont, much like the City of Cornwall and Locomotive 17, have spent years trying to figure out a way to save the building, but much like the case in Cornwall, they are left with no good options.
To renovate the Raisin Region Heritage Centre is estimated to cost nearly $900,000, and even if that were done, the building is impossible to access as all of the land around the building was sold to the Catholic school board. The centre does not even have road access.
After meeting dead-ends in trying to save the building, the Township is now looking at demolishing the 110-year-old structure, at an estimated cost of nearly $700,000.
Our history should be honoured and it should be saved, otherwise all we will have left is historical plaques where our heritage once stood and memories.
From now on when anything is given status as being historically significant by a municipality, that municipality should immediately create a fund and begin saving money to maintain that artefact.
I have seen the alternative over the past four years. There are consultations, and debates as to whether or not it is worth the money to save our history, and in the meantime, our regional heritage crumbles into dust.
What do you think readers should be done to save our local history? Email me a Letter to the Editor at nseebruch@seawaynews.media
