Amherst Shore Country Inn

Historic Ketchum Cottages
(Ketchum Cottage and CMTR Cottage)

The Historic Ketchum Cottages are two buildings that were used during the Northumberland terminus construction phase of the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway project. This was North America's largest civil engineering project of the 1800's.

Henry Ketchum of New Brunswick conceived the idea to build a railway to haul tall ships from the Bay of Fundy to-and-from the Northumberland Strait, a distance of 17 miles. He got the project well into the construction phase and was almost 80% complete when the project was halted. Changes in the Canadian Government did not extend the approved time to complete the railway.

The Ketchum Cottage was used by Ketchum himself. There are two possible uses of the CMTR cottage; some say it was an office, and others say it was a cookhouse for the large on-site crew.

Ketchum Cottage

The 'Ketchum Cottage' is usually offered for weekly rental during the spring, summer and autumn by the Amherst Shore Country Inn. This registered historic, seaside building was constructed build for Henry Ketchum in 1882. It was the dwelling he used during work on the Northumberland terminus of Nova Scotia's ships railway project.

The cottage is on a bluff that overlooks the Northumberland Strait. This photo shows the strait at low tide. The two basins exposed at low tide are among the few remains of the project that was intended to carry sailing ships by rail from this point to the Bay of Fundy near Amherst. The beach below is easily accessible by a short path to the provincial park next door to the Ketchum Cottage.

The cottage is on two floors. The first floor contains a large living area and a place to dine. There is an excellent kitchen, which has laundry facilities at one end. A three piece bath (with shower) is well located at the rear entrance. It is ideal for a quick shower to wash off the salty water after a refreshing swim in the strait.

This photo shows the living room and door to the kitchen to the right of the fireplace. Windows to the right overlook lawn and sea.

This is the Ketchum cottage kitchen. The washer and dryer are behind the camera.

Upstairs lie three bedrooms and a four piece bathroom (ie a toilet, tub with shower and a hand sink).

This is the master bedroom.

The master bedroom also contains a Jacuzzi tub.

There are a double and a single bed in the larger of the two other bedrooms.

The third bedroom is much smaller. It has a double bed.

CMTR (Chignecto Marine Transport Railway) Cottage

The 'CMTR Cottage' (Chignecto Marine Transport Railway) is sometimes offered for weekly or longer term rental in the late spring, summer and early autumn. This 'primitive cottage' was also used during the construction of the Chignecto Ship's Railway. While some modern conveniences have been added to the building, most of it sits, as it was 120 years ago. The cottage is located on a lot beside the 'Ketchum Cottage'.

This photo was taken on the lawn between the cottage and the bluff that overlooks Baie Verte, the body of water in the photo. The land across the bay is New Brunswick.

The beach below the bluff is an ideal place to explore and enjoy at low tide, (as in the photo). There is enough water to swim for a few hours around high tides that occur twice a day (24 hours). Access to the beach is via a walk across the Ketchum cottage lawn, then through the adjacent Provincial Park

Here are two views of the living room;

And, two views of the kitchen.

There is a dining area.

And a three-piece bathroom.

This photo shows the bedroom on the main floor. There is no insulation in the cottage and the walls are just as they were over 100 years ago.

The living room of the CMTR cottage, a former CMTR or Chignecto Ships Railway building is used for Elderhostel lectures. There are two theories for the use of the cottage. The first we heard was that it was used as an office. More recently it is thought the cottage may have served as a cook house.

Above Professor Dr. Ron Aiken describes the life cycle of the American Lobster. Below Rob Laceby tells the story of the CMTR or the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway. Please note that the walls are the same (only older) as they were over 100 years ago when the building was used as part of the CMTR project.

For a number of years, the CMTR cottage has only been rented to those who have had an opportunity to inspect it personally. The word 'primitive' is used in the description of this cottage to ensure anyone who wishes to rent it ensures in their mind that a primitive cottage will suit their needs.

Please call Mary at 1-902-661-4800 for availability and more information, including 'when the tide is in' and dinner availability and menu at the inn.

View the rates for the cottages

Amherst Shore Country Inn
RR#2, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada
Phone or fax (902) 661-4800
Canada & USA toll-free: 1-800-661-ASCI (2724) for reservations

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