Potter Place Railroad Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Potter Place Railroad Station
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | Depot St., Andover, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 0.2 acres (0.081 ha) |
| Built | 1874 |
| Architect | Cheney, John B. |
| Architectural style | Stick/Eastlake |
| NRHP reference No. | 89000189 |
| Added to NRHP | March 16, 1989 |
The Potter Place Railroad Station is a really old train station in Andover, New Hampshire. It's on Depot Street. This station was built way back in 1874. It's one of the best-kept train stations from the 1800s in Merrimack County. Today, it's home to the Andover Historical Society museum. It became a special historic place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
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What Makes Potter Place Station Special?
The Potter Place Railroad Station sits in a quiet, country area. It's between Depot Street and an old train track. This old track is now a walking and biking path called the Northern Rail Trail. Depot Street used to be a main road through Andover. Now, a bigger road, U.S. Route 4, goes around it.
Station Design and Features
The building is made of wood and has one story. It has a cool, sloped roof with long edges. These edges are held up by fancy carved supports. The roof also has two small windows that stick out, called dormers. The walls are made of vertical wooden boards. They have special decorations that were popular in the Stick style of building. On the side facing the tracks, there's a part that sticks out. This part holds the controls for a working semaphore signal. A semaphore signal is like an old-fashioned traffic light for trains.
A Look Back at History
The Northern Railroad was a train line that connected Concord, New Hampshire, to White River Junction, Vermont. It started running trains in 1847. This station was built in 1874 to serve that important train line.
When it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, it was one of only fourteen old train stations left in Merrimack County. Many of the other stations had been changed a lot over the years. This station was sold by the railroad in 1961. In the 1970s, it was carefully fixed up to look like it used to. The Andover Historical Society took over the station in 1983.
Andover Historical Society Museum
The Potter Place Station is the main museum building for the Andover Historical Society. Inside, you can see what a station master's office looked like in the early to mid-1900s. There's even an old caboose from the early 1900s right next to the station! A caboose is the last car on a freight train.
Other Museum Buildings
The Andover Historical Society has other cool museum buildings nearby.
- An old freight house from the early 1900s. It shows off old farm machines and tools used for harvesting ice.
- A restored village store from around 1900.
- An early 1900s post office.
- The Tucker Mountain Schoolhouse.
You can visit these museum buildings on summer weekends.
The Magician's Home
Across the old train tracks from the station, you can find the home and grave of a famous magician. His name was Richard Potter. He was a very well-known magician in the early 1800s.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 54: Potter Place
