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