The Cumberland County Museum and Archives,
located in the former home of Robert Barry Dickey, offers a
3-day Sails
to Rails Tour that includes visits to the Tidnish Marine Transport
Railway Interpretive Centre and Dock site, and the Henry Ketchum Hiking
Trail. The Tidnish Bridge
Visitor Centre houses photographs of the Chignecto Ship Railway
and details of the engineering challenges encountered during its
construction. At the Tidnish
Dock Site the railway path can be seen entering the woods but
there is no longer any sign of the tracks. The Henry Ketchum Hiking Trail runs
from the Tidnish Bridge Visitor Centre to the Tidnish Dock Provincial
Park, following the route of the Chignecto railway. It is
approximately four km in length.
Tidnish Dock Provincial Park is
situated at the northern terminus of the Chignecto Ship Railway. The Fort Lawrence Terminus has very
few remains except for the jetty and unused masonry.
Tidnish
Bridge is probably the
best preserved part of the Chignecto railway. The culvert spans the
Tidnish River, while an overgrown railway line runs on the top of it.
The Bridge is approximately seven metres high and 15-18 metres wide.
The
Church of the Good Shepherd
was an Anglican
Church built during the construction of the Chignecto
railway. It was constructed by Jacob Baxter on land donated by
Robert Barry
Dickey in 1892. The first recorded service was held
on 21 Aug. 1892. Henry Ketchum donated $500 to the church in his
will for the construction of a tower and a bell. A small
stained
glass window was given by Sarah Ketchum in her husband’s memory.
In 1992 the church was designated a Municipal Heritage Property by the
County of Cumberland.
St. Albans,
an Anglican Church
originally constructed at Fort Lawrence, was built to accommodate the
large influx of people arriving there to work on the Chignecto railway
in 1888. The Rev. V.E. Harris and Miss F.E. Townsend
appealed to local residents and Chignecto railway labourers for help in
funding the construction of the church. The railway labourers dug
the foundation and cellar, and many of the village people assisted in
the church’s construction, which was completed in 1889. In 1910,
the church was moved, piece by piece, to River Hebert where it still
remains today.
The Ketchum Cottage was built
in 1882 at Tidnish Crossroads for H.G.C. Ketchum, who lived there with
his wife Sarah, during work on the Northumberland Terminus.
The Ketchum Cottage has been upgraded and is now used as a summer
rental accommodation.
Chignecto Marine Railway was
designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Site by the Canadian
Society for Civil Engineering in 1989.
Sources:
“The Chignecto Marine Transport Railway”. Abridged from
Tidnish Dock Provincial Park Brochure. Prepared by the Department
of Natural Resources
In http://parks.gov.ns.ca/parks/data/tidnish.pdf
Cumberland County Museum. Tours. Sails to Rails
In http://www.creda.net/̃ccmuseum/tour2.htm
Glenn, Laurie A. “Cumberland’s Built Heritage: Church of the Good
Shepherd, Tidnish Crossroads - Foundation laid July 13, 1892”.
The Citizen, July 16,
1994, p.33.
Trenholm, Gladys et al. A
History of Fort Lawrence - Times, Tides and Towns.
Edmonton, Alberta: Sherwood Printing Ltd., 1985.