Bucksport station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Bucksport Railroad Station
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Main Street, Bucksport, Maine |
|---|---|
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1874 |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000091 |
| Added to NRHP | April 28, 1975 |
The Bucksport Railroad Station is a special old building in Bucksport, Maine. It was built way back in 1874 for trains to stop and pick up people and goods. This station is one of the few old train stations left in rural Maine. Today, it's home to the Bucksport Historical Society Museum, where you can learn about the town's past. Because it's so important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Contents
What Does the Station Look Like?
The Bucksport Railroad Station is a rectangular building made of wood. It has one and a half stories and a roof with wide edges, like a hat brim. The outside is covered with wooden boards called clapboards, and it sits on a strong granite base.
The side of the building that faced the train tracks had seven sections. One section had a window for buying tickets. Four sections had windows and a door for passengers waiting for their train. The last two sections had a window and a wide door for loading and unloading freight, which are goods carried by train. The other side, facing Main Street, looked similar, but the ticket office door was at the far end. Both narrow ends of the building have three windows.
A Big Idea: Connecting Continents by Rail
The European and North American Railway (E&NR) started in 1851 with a huge goal. They wanted to build a train line from Portland, Maine all the way to Canso, Nova Scotia in Canada. The idea was to make sea travel between North America and Europe shorter. It also helped move goods between different parts of what is now Canada.
The main train line went through Bangor. In the early 1870s, people in Bucksport asked for their own train line. So, the E&NR built a smaller line just for Bucksport. This is why the Bucksport Railroad Station was built in 1874.
From Train Station to Museum
The European and North American Railway didn't last very long. After a few years, the train line was run by local groups. Then, in 1884, it became part of the Maine Central Railroad.
Trains stopped using the station a long time ago. Now, the building has a new life! It's home to the Bucksport Historical Society. They have offices and a museum inside. You can visit to see how people lived and traveled in Bucksport's past. It's a great way to learn about local history.
See Also
