On September 15, 1907 Canaan was the site of a famous train wreck. Four miles north of Canaan Station, the southbound Quebec to Boston express, heavily loaded with passengers returning from the Sherbrooke Fair, collided head-on with a northbound Boston & Maine freight train. Twenty-five people perished, and an equal number were seriously injured. Cause of the accident was “due to a mistake in train dispatcher’s orders.” A live recording of Canaan Train History can be heard on the Canaan Historical Museum Page.
On June 2, 1923, another disaster destroyed the heart of Canaan Village (East Canaan). That morning a call came in concerning a fire in a haymow at the Stephens home on School Street. Within two hours “The Great Canaan Fire” burned 48 homes and businesses.
It completely destroyed the heart of Canaan Village. Only the Veteran’s Monument remained. The townspeople were resilient, though, and moved quickly to rebuild.
Twenty two buildings were replaced within a single year.
Trees were planted along the roadways soon after the fire and the Town Green, once the site of private homes, was formed. The four corners at the Village center were built up as stores and businesses.
The sturdy buildings that rose on the Corner of Main and Depot streets tell us that there were great expectations for the future of the business district. The new post office, hardware store, pharmacy, and train depot were opened with pride. Elm trees were planted along the curbstone sidewalks. A new section of Route 4 cut through the village providing the increased number of motorists and visitors with a major link to the cities of Concord and Lebanon. Canaan Inn was a major way point.
The ease of passenger rail made Canaan an ideal vacation spot for tourists who enjoyed access to Cardigan Mountain and Hart’s Pond (Canaan Street Lake). The “Ski Train” brought winter sports enthusiasts to town in the 1930s and 40s.
In 1938, another disaster struck in the form of a hurricane. This event along with the decline of passenger rail that resulted from the growth of Route 4 was beginning to shape the downtown village into the town as we know it in the present.
Canaan Street, too, began to take its familiar present day shape during this time. In the late 1940’s Cardigan Mountain School was formed in the buildings that have also hosted Canaan College and The Lucerne Inn, and then eventually moved to a prominent point on the Lake and continues to offer opportunities in educational excellence to present day.
In 1968 Canaan Street was declared to be a “Historic District,” and steps were taken to preserve the architecture and history of that area from 1780-1850. It is one of the few Historic Areas in New England that preserves lakeside history.
In 1974 The Preservation of the Meeting House became an important part of local heritage and focus.
Despite a turn toward preservation, time marched on. In the 1970s the large graceful trees along Depot Street began to die of Dutch Elm disease. The Canaan Inn burned in 1977. A wildly popular rock concert in the 70s drew 20,000 fans to the old fairgrounds. It proved so disruptive to the Village that the Town adopted an ordinance to require a permit for large outdoor musical events. In the 1980s there was another flood. The tradition of facing down adversity and becoming better and stronger prevailed.
