Voicing Concerns It has recently come to the attention of residents in the village of St Peters, Cape Breton, that a meeting was held between Parks Canada, a representative of Richmond County Tourism and a developer, to discuss the future of the historic lock masters house at the St Peters Canal. Much to the astonishment and chagrin of many of the citizens of St Peters, the outcome of this meeting was a decision to demolish the building. Thanks to the (lack) of effort by Parks Canada, the house (which has sat empty since 1983) is in a sad state of disrepair, after serving some of the most reputable men and their families that the village has ever seen, since 1876. Designed by Henry F Perley of Saint John NB and built by Francis Simeon Cunningham of Antigonish during the first expansion of the canal between 1875 and 1881, the house first welcomed St Peters native Wallace Morgan Kavanagh, grandson of area merchant Laurence Kavanagh Jr, the first Roman Catholic M L A ever elected in the province of Nova Scotia in the 1820s. Kavanagh was succeeded by men like merchant Angus McAskill, father of the famed Nova Scotian photographer Wallace R McAskill. Wallace McAskill’s mother was Mary Amelia Cunningham, daughter of the builder. Another merchant John D Matheson and his son Kenneth M Matheson between them served the better part of thirty years as lock masters. Area politician and lawyer George W Kytes son Victor served as lockmaster in the 1950s, as did Allan D Morrison, son of merchant A A Morrison, whose store stood in the heart of the village for over one hundred years (where now a Tim Hortons fills the space). In a day and age where tourism has become one of the main industries upon Cape Breton Island, any rational human being might come to the conclusion that a wonderful opportunity is being grossly disregarded by the powers that be, in putting the funds into restoring the house and turning it into a museum to celebrate the history of the building and the canal itself. This could employ several people of the area during the tourism season. It was the promise of a canal that brought many of the merchant families to the village in the early 1860s, and many of the Acadian families from the outlying areas to settle along the shores of the Bras dOr Lake and in the village itself. It was headline news in Halifax papers in August of 1869. Hotels were built and opened as a result. Stagecoach lines from all directions made St Peters a central stopover point. Peruse the issues of the old Bras dOr Gazette on film at the Public Archives in Halifax for the weekly listings of ships and cargoes off loaded at the canal, and the many Gloucester and Provincetown, Massachusetts fishing fleets that paid a stop at the canal to hire up local men for crews on the Georges and Grand Banks. This could be celebrated within the walls of a revitalized Lockmasters House. Though one hates to think or say it, it is increasingly obvious to myself and many people in the area (and on the island in general) that the current government in Ottawa could care less about us. The reality is they will do what they will do, but it certainly would have been nice to have consulted or at worst - inform the public on what is about to be done with a integral part of our history. It is disheartening and distressing that this has occurred and I would hope it is not too late to reverse the decisions -seemingly made in secrecy about the St Peters Canal Lock Masters House...
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 23:29:41 +0000
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