For the first time, the public will be invited to step into the former Omemee train station to learn about its history and plans for its restoration.
The Open Doors event on Sunday, September 13 comes weeks after the Omemee & District Lions Club achieved a milestone in its community restoration project by securing the location to which the historic train station will be moved.
In May, the City of Kawartha Lakes launched a survey asking the public for feedback on the station relocation, including two options within Omemee Beach Park or whether it should be relocated elsewhere. Half of the 75 respondents to the survey preferred the location just south of the triangular garden and north of the playground. At its July 21 meeting, city council approved the preferred Omemee Beach Park location.
Not only do the committee leads say they are “thrilled” with the support from the City of Kawartha Lakes and the approved location, but they are hopeful this step will assist with fundraising efforts.
“Now that we know where the home is, as soon as we sign that memo of understanding, it’s written in the stone,” says Karen Cooper, Omemee Lions Club vice president and project committee member. “We can go to a potential donor and say, ‘This is the full story,” which we couldn’t do before. Now we can say we know where this is going and the city is behind us.”
The restoration project was launched in 2024, shortly after the closure of Lady Eaton Elementary School in Omemee in 2023, where the train station has been located for decades, clad in green metal casing and used as a storage shed.
When Cooper walked through the station for the first time then, she couldn’t believe what she had found.
“We were expecting a rundown, horrible situation with just some toys in it,” says Cooper. “We walked in, and I swear it was like a snapshot from 1970 when they closed it. Time stood still. There was all the beautiful wooden wainscoting on the 13-foot ceilings and beautiful floorboards.”
Although Omemee was served by a railway starting in 1857 and had several train stations, the current station was built around 1908 and served as a train station until passenger service ended in 1962. Ten years after that, it was sold to the school. Today, much of its original structure remains intact, including its classic charm.
“We looked at it and I looked at my fellow Lion, and I said, this can’t be allowed to fall apart. What’s going to happen if the school is fallow for ten, fifteen years?” Cooper says. “How often do you come across something like that? You can’t let it go. You can’t let it just fall apart. So here we are, never having done anything like this before. We’re going to do it.”
Since launching the restoration project, the club has not only raised $18,000 but heard many stories from residents about the train station and has received donations, including a typewriter that belonged to the last stationmaster, donated by his 97-year-old daughter.
“You can just visualize when you walk in (to the train station) what took place here all those years ago,” says Cooper. “It’s just so historic and there are lots of stories from people, all the residents in town who grew up here, who used the train or whose parents worked on the train.”
“All these beautiful artifacts families have held on to for so long because it’s their parents’, grandparent’s — they finally have a place where they can go,” adds Mary Ann Martin, Omemee Lions Club board director and project committee member.
The estimated cost of relocating the station is $80,000 to $100,000, which would include relocation, foundation construction, servicing, and restoration materials. The Omemee Lions Club will be responsible for fundraising, restoring the building, and covering all future operating and maintenance costs through a memorandum of understanding with the municipality.
“We could have (the relocated station) up and running in no time, but we really want to bring the history back — the whole look, everything tied into it, so visitors will think they’re walking back into the early 1900s here,” Martin says.
Upon completion, the restored structure will be used by the Lions Club as a seasonal community hub. It could be used for children’s groups, tours, art shows, showers, and other social gatherings. It would also be a destination for tourism information while also sharing history about the community.
“One of the most important things is that it’s a historical place,” says Cooper. “I think of the stuff it’s been through. It saw all the boys going off to World War One, it saw them going off to World War Two (and) coming home from that. It saw the Great Depression when people would ride the rails and jump off the train in the town to see if there was any work. It saw so many things.”
Though it will still be a while before the project is complete, there is a chance for the public to learn more during the Open Doors event, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 13. Guests will be welcomed to step into history while learning about next steps in the project from committee members.
“We’re very proud to be one of the buildings that was chosen to represent the City of Kawartha Lakes,” says Cooper. “We’re really hoping lots of people come out so we can share our plans.”
While Cooper and Martin are both eager for the restoration to be complete, they also hope the process and goal inspires others as well.
“(This project) shows people that volunteers can do so much when they put their mind to it,” Martin says. “This is not a business doing this. This is a couple of people who are passionate about what we’re doing here in Omemee, about the train station, and about the possibilities it can bring.”
“It’s so nice when people can visualize nice changes coming that will only promote and encourage tourism and development in Omemee, because we are a little hidden gem here,” Martin adds.
To support the project, you can donate by etransfer to omemeelionsclubstation@gmail.com or donate via GoFundMe.
For updates, follow Restore The Omemee Train Station on Facebook.
