The Duncan Train Station has scooped the $50,000 grand prize in a national competition for heritage sites, after winning the most votes in the online contest.
The 1912-built station, which houses the Cowichan Valley Museum, was one of 10 sites entered in the National Trust for Canada’s Next Great Save contest.
It ended up with 76,521 votes, with La Vielle Maison in Meteghan, N.S. coming second at 52,760 and winning $10,000, and Hope’s Canadian National Railway station finishing third at 22,357 votes and receiving $5,000.
The two-storey Duncan station on Canada Avenue, which replaced the original structure built in 1887, is operated by the Cowichan Historical Society and is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
“It’s terrific,” Cowichan Historical Society vice-president Sheila Kitson said of the win. “I haven’t wiped the grin off my face yet.”
She said press coverage of Duncan’s participation in the contest was a huge help and led to a surge of votes.
The hope is that the winnings will serve as “seed money” for a quarter-of-a-million dollar restoration of the landmark that will “give it more life,” Kitson said.
The contest began Jan. 20 and closed Wednesday. Other B.C. sites entered included the Rossland Drill Hall and Abbotsford’s Turner House.
Some of the winnings are expected to go to reducing the building’s carbon footprint by adding heat pumps and more insulation. The upgrade will also include painting and the rebuilding of brick chimneys.
Kitson said a heritage consultant has been secured for the planned upgrade. “We’ll get to work on it as soon as we possibly can,” she said.
Winter hours for the Cowichan Valley Museum are Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
jbell@timescolonist
