Power Building built in 1911 for Walker Sons Limited, Walkerville (Wells and Gray Limited)

By circa 1911, the Walker Power Building, owned by Hiram Walker & Sons, was constructed over some of the earlier rail lines and the railroad turntable. The property existed with the appearance of a large industrial building with little physical memory of its railway history, especially after the subsequent demolition of the adjacent Pere Marquette Train Station in the 1957.

This history of the rail lines was literally brought to surface when the intact railroad turntable was uncovered below the Walker Power Building foundation as part of the current property redevelopment project (believed to have been uncovered sometime between spring 2018 and 2019). The railway turntable was found to have been left intact and constructed atop by the Walker Power Building, which has some of its column supports placed directly on top of the turntable.1 The turntable was also found to be approximately 100cm below the ground surface, however the exact limits of the turntable will be subject to locational measurements to be identified through subsequent Archaeological reporting. 1 The unearthing of the railroad turntable was reported by a local newspaper, with description of how the turntable potentially served small locomotives on the rail line, transporting grain from the county to Hiram Walker's distillery in Walkerville, and transportation of tourist to Kingsville's waterfront. turntable functioned to assist steam engine trains in reversing the direction of travel upon reaching the end of the rail line. 3 The

3 Cross, Brian. "Reborn Walker Power Building to Showcase Unearthed Railroad Turntable." Windsor Star, April 11, 2019." Retrieved from windsorstar.com/news/local-news/reborn-walker-power-building-to-showcase- unearthed-railroad-turntable