Don Kennedy, who was a member of a Pictou County scouting movement, said Wednesday that the Scouts leased the original railway station in Bridgeville in the past for storage, but for about the last 15 years, it hasn’t been needed.
“Now that scouting is down, we don't have as much equipment as we have had,” he said. The Scouts had leased the building from the Department of Natural Resources since the 1960s, but it would now like to see a community group take over the lease and make something of the building.
He said the lease cost the Scouts about $130 a year, a deal they have kept up, but the organization is now hoping another community group, or groups, will take it over.
Kennedy said the building needs some maintenance work and the brush and grass surrounding it has grown up, but he believes it can be a worthy building for a museum or community centre.
One or more groups could certainly share in the project, he said, and since it dates back to the late 1800s and has unique features there could be some government assistance available to make it into a historic building.
The building is one of only a few original stations still standing in northeastern Nova Scotia. It was built in 1892-93 when Bridgeville was a mining and blast furnace community with a population of more than 1,500 people.
“We had a lease for quite a while and there was interest from a few groups in the East River Valley about taking it over,” Kennedy said. “Two were very interested but it fell through. It is going to take some doing to turn this into a historical building but it has some very unique features.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the building or in taking over the lease, can contact Kennedy at 902-752-2828.
