GRAVENHURST - The next major celebration of Gravenhurst’s quasquicentennial year is rolling down the tracks for June 24.
Officially designated a heritage site under authority of the Ontario Heritage Act this past February, the Gravenhurst Train Station is the next focus of the town’s 125th anniversary celebration. At 4 p.m. that day, as the local Doors Open event comes to a close, the train station will receive its official heritage designation plaque during a ceremony at the corner of Brock and Second streets.
“The plaque will recognize the station as a valued heritage structure and it will be the first plaque erected upon recommendation of the municipal heritage committee,” explained committee member and one of the event’s organizers, Colin Old. “The public is welcome to mark history in the making.”
The event will be presided over by Mayor Paisley Donaldson, who along with members of the heritage committee will give a few brief speeches and history of the station. Refreshments will also be served following the official portion of the event.
Old explained the railway first arrived in Gravenhurst in 1875, although about 200 metres southwest of its current location.
That station burned down in 1913 but was replaced in 1919.
Hank Smith, heritage committee, chair said he hopes everyone will take part in the ceremony and added it will be a big, outdoor party to close off the weekend of events.
The station dedication will be the third major event of the anniversary year, following on the heels of the official kickoff earlier this spring and the annual fashion show held May 23.
The events are building toward the Aug. 17-18 weekend, when the town will host a birthday party in conjunction with the Steamship Festival at Muskoka Wharf.