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Ridgeway House and Gunton Waiting Station

Rockwood, Manitoba, R0H, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2006/08/09

Contextual view, from the southeast, of the Ridgeway House (right) and Gunton Waiting Station (left), Grosse Isle, 2007; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007
Contextual View
Primary elevations, from the southeast, of the Gunton Waiting Station, Grosse Isle, 2007; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007
Primary Elevations
Primary elevations, from the southwest, of the Ridgeway House, Grosse Isle, 2007; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007
Primary Elevations

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1886/01/01 to 1886/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/02/14

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Ridgeway House, a modest dwelling completed in 1886 and later expanded, and Gunton Waiting Station, built in ca. 1944, are one-storey wooden structures on a museum property in Grosse Isle. The municipal designation applies to the buildings and the grounds they occupy.

Heritage Value

The Ridgeway House and Gunton Waiting Station exemplify the types of utilitarian buildings erected during early phases of development in Manitoba's Interlake region, and now preserved at a museum site. The house, planned by an unidentified Swiss builder and associated for more than a century after 1898 with the family of Rockwood-area pioneer John Ridgeway, displays unique design and construction features, making it an interesting local landmark. The waiting station, a compact but comfortable building typical of the functional facilities placed at stops not busy enough for full-fledged stations, recalls the era when rural Manitobans relied on scheduled railway passenger service for transport. It sheltered Gunton-area customers of the Canadian Pacific Railway until the early 1960s.

Source: Rural Municipality of Rockwood By-law No. 11/06, August 9, 2006

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the site character of Ridgeway House and Gunton Waiting Station include:
- the location on open museum grounds next to railway tracks at Grosse Isle

Key exterior and interior elements that define the vernacular character of the Ridgeway House include:
- the elongated one-storey form under a hipped roof broken at the front by a hipped bay window and a gabled triangular entranceway projecting at a 45-degree angle from the wall
- the wood-frame construction, including the unique configuration of joists and beams
- the openings, including the tall rectangular sash windows in plain casings throughout
- the unpretentious finishes and details, including the horizontal wood siding painted white, the plain wood trim, the front door of panelled wood and glass, etc.
- the idiosyncratic internal layout, sans hallways, with some walls set diagonally rather than at right angles and with rooms organized around the building's perimeter off a central common space
- the interior details, including high ceilings covered in wood panelling, ample wood trim, etc.

Key elements that define the exterior and interior character of the Gunton Waiting Station include:
- the compact one-storey rectangular form of wood-frame construction with a hip roof
- the tall rectangular two-over-two-pane sash windows on three sides and the central entrance door of panelled wood and multi-paned glass
- the minimal details, including the horizontal wood siding and plain wood trim, the metal chimney, etc.
- inside, the modestly appointed single room, including the narrow wood panelling on the walls and truncated ceiling, the wood floor, the metal window hardware, etc.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Manitoba

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (MB)

Recognition Statute

Manitoba Historic Resources Act

Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Site

Recognition Date

2006/08/09

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Extraction and Production
Developing Economies
Communications and Transportation

Function - Category and Type

Current

Leisure
Museum

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling
Transport-Rail
Station or Other Rail Facility

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

RM of Rockwood 285 Main Street Box 902 Stonewall MB R0C 2Z0

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

M0283

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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