Thurman Station Association
Thurman Station Association
P.O. Box 145, Athol, NY 12810 -or- e-mail us at: [email protected] Recreate the past and Build the Future... Thurman Station Association actively promotes the community of Thurman, NY, by sponsoring events and projects to publicize the town and the products, services and entertainment offered here. Download Thurman Station Brochure |
Photo taken June 2012
Photos taken by ~ Sally Feihel
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History of the Thurman Station
The Town of Thurman dates back to the late 18th century, when frontier families established farms and cut timber for themselves and the rapidly growing fledgling nation. Local industry and the prospect of a railroad through the Adirondacks inspired the railroad's construction in the 1860s.
Thomas C. Durant brought the Adirondac branch to Thurman in 1870, and a combination passenger/freight house was built, a long, rambling structure. Within a couple more years the tracks had been extended to North Creek, even stretching to North River beyond, and the North Country had a new link to the rest of the world. In the 1940s tracks were laid from North Creek to Tahawus to enable transport of titanium.
Few remember the 1870s passenger and freight station that was torn down in 1930. It exists only in old photographs, although it is said that timbers from the station became structural members in a house in Athol, still standing today. The station was replaced by a three-sided, flat roofed shelter with clapboard siding, which remained until passenger service was suspended in 1956. Freight service ceased in the 1980s.
It was July 8, 2006 that the first passenger train in fifty years again ran through Thurman. In October of that same year, officials from Warren County and the State of New York joined together at Thurman Station to break ground for the new station.*
The Thurman Station Association was formed by a group of civic-minded residents of Thurman and nearby towns who saw the economic potential of building and managing a full-sized station at or near the original site. In addition to eventual train ticket sales, potential exists to provide for selling locally made products such as maple syrup and handicrafts, and services such as hay rides, horseback riding, canoe trips and guided hikes and historic tours. It was anticipated that the station also could serve as a distribution center for local publicity materials and a mini-museum of Thurman's railroad history, as well as a staging area for local events.
Cost overruns during the restoration of the rail line and station site development resulted in a scaling down of the planned station in Thurman, and a pavilion and paved parking area was constructed. Thurman Station Association still endeavors to make the site serve the people of Thurman and surrounding areas, and to support the railroad as it serves the people of Warren County.
Cost overruns during the restoration of the rail line and station site development resulted in a scaling down of the planned station in Thurman, and a pavilion and paved parking area was constructed. Thurman Station Association still endeavors to make the site serve the people of Thurman and surrounding areas, and to support the railroad as it serves the people of Warren County.
