Cannondale station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cannondale
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Cannondale station in September 2007
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| Location | 22 Cannon Road, Wilton, Connecticut | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°13′0″N 73°25′36″W / 41.21667°N 73.42667°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Town of Wilton | ||||||||||
| Operated by | Metro-North Railroad | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  Norwalk Transit District: Route 7 Link |
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| Construction | |||||||||||
| Parking | 140 spaces | ||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Fare zone | 41 | ||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||
| Passengers (2018) | 167 | ||||||||||
| Rank | 102 of 124 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Cannondale Station
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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| Built | 1892 | ||||||||||
| Part of | Cannondale Historic District (ID92001531) | ||||||||||
| Designated CP | November 12, 1992 | ||||||||||
Cannondale station is a train station for people who travel to work or school every day. It's located in the Cannondale area of Wilton, Connecticut. This station is part of the Danbury Branch of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line.
The station building is quite old and special. In 1992, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site, recognized for its unique history and architecture. It's part of a larger area called the Cannondale Historic District.
The station has one platform next to a single train track. This platform is long enough for two train cars. There are also 140 parking spaces available for people using the train. The town of Wilton manages all these parking spots.
Discovering Cannondale Station's Past
The train line that serves Cannondale station opened a long time ago, in 1852. The official opening was on March 1st of that year. A person named Charles Cannon, who lived in Cannondale, helped build the railway through Wilton.
Back then, taking the train was much faster than traveling by stagecoach. A trip to South Norwalk cost 30 cents, and going to Danbury cost 50 cents. This was a lot of money, as a worker's daily pay might have been less than a dollar!
In the early days, only two trains traveled up and down the line each day. Sometimes, heavy rains and floods from the Norwalk River would damage the tracks. This meant the train line had to close for repairs.
How Many People Used the Station?
When the line first opened, not many people used the trains. On average, only about 34 passengers were on each train. A historian who studied railroads, L. Peter Cornwall, thinks that maybe only about a dozen people used Cannondale station in its first few years.
At first, Cannondale might have been a "flag stop." This means the train would only stop if a passenger or a railroad worker raised a flag to signal it. But by 1856, it became a regular stop for all trains. It was first called Cannon's.
Changes to the Station Name
In the early 1870s, the station might have gone back to being a flag stop, as it wasn't always listed. But by the 1890s, it was listed again as a full station, and its name was shortened to Cannon.
Just before World War I, the station's name was changed one last time to Cannondale. Today, the station is an important part of the Cannondale Historic District. This district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
For a while, there was even a coffee shop called "Cafe au Lait" inside the station building. However, it closed its doors on March 31, 2010.
- Metro-North station page for Cannondale
