and a carriage works which even entered automobile production. A branch line of the Dominion Atlantic, the Cornwallis Valley Railway, was built north to Canning and Kingsport in 1889, further developing the apple industry and creating a suburban line for workers, shoppers and schoolchildren to commute to and from Kentville. The railway also attracted large institutional developments such as a regional TB hospital, the Kentville Sanitorium, a federal agricultural research station, and an army training base at Camp Aldershot. The town became a major travel centre highlighted by the large Cornwallis Inn built at the town's centre by the railway. The town boomed during World War I and World War II with heavy wartime railway traffic on the Dominion Atlantic and the training of thousands of troops at Camp Aldershot. Many residents fought overseas in the local West Nova Scotia Regiment as well as other branches of service. A Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper was named after the town, and her crew often took leave in Kentville. Post war challenges Kentville faced serious challenges after World War II. The dominant apple industry suffered severe declines due to the loss of its British export market. The nearby military training base at Camp Aldershot was significantly downsized and the town's major employer, the Dominion Atlantic Railway suffered serious declines with the collapse of the apple industry and the growth of highway travel. Further decline followed in the 1970s as the town lost its retail core to the growth of shopping malls and later "big box" stores in nearby New Minas. The town was also eclipsed in restaurant, upscale retail and cultural institutions by the nearby university town of Wolfville. Railway passenger service ended in 1990. Freight service ended in October 1993 and the Kentville rail shops were closed and moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia. Kentville lost many heritage buildings in the postwar period and is one of the only towns in Nova Scotia without a single designated heritage building. Major losses included the large railway station, one of the most historic in Canada which was demolished in 1990. In July 2007 the town demolished the last railway structure in town, the DAR Roundhouse, despite a province-wide protest, a move which earned the Town of Kentville a place on the "2008 Worst" List of the Heritage Canada Foundation. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Kentville had a population of