Chesterton is a disused train station in

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester, Jackson and Liberty townships in Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 14,241 at the 2020 Census. The three towns of Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and Porter are known as the Duneland a ...

. The current depot replaced a wooden structure built in 1852 for the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad, a predecessor road of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, that burned down in 1913. It was rebuilt in 1914 as a brick structure. By 1914,

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

of the

New York Central and Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

held a majority interest in the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The Southern Railways trackage provided an ideal extension of the New York Central from Buffalo to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. On December 22, 1914, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to form a new

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

. The New York Central Railroad, built the new Chesterton Depot out of brick and to the west, across Fourth Street, they built a freight house that same year. In 1968, the New York Central merged with the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. In 1976, the Penn Central's freight service was consolidated into

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

and it ended passenger service altogether. Passenger service to Chesterton ended in 1959. The rail lines are currently operated by Norfolk Southern.

Architecture

The Passenger Depot is identified in the National Register as

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...

style, whereas the Indiana State Historic Office (SHP) and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana identify the structure as Spanish Eclectic The Porter County Interim report also identifies the construction date as 1924. This contradiction with the National Register information may reflect a building upgrade in 1924. The adjacent freight house retains the bungalow/American Craftsman styling, which may be the original (pre-1921) style of the passenger depot. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. According to the Indiana Office of Historic Preservation, attributes of the bungalow/American Craftsmap style are simple form, usually low side

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

, large porch, heavy brick piers or square tapered wood posts, overhanging eaves with simple knee braces, low pitched roof, natural materials, wood siding, brick, stucco, cobblestone. Attributes of Spanish Eclectic style are clay tile roofs, little or no overhanging eaves, stucco walls, arches, especially above doors, porch entries or primary windows, elaborate entryways, decorative ironwork. Passenger Station 11.jpg, New York Central Passenger Depot, Chesterton, Indiana (trackside) Freight Station 15.jpg, New York Central Freight Depot, Chesterton, Indiana (trackside) Freight Station 010.jpg, New York Central Freight Depot, Chesterton, Indiana

National Register of Historic Sites

Chesterton Commercial Historic District The Chesterton Commercial Historic District is a historic district in Chesterton, Indiana. Originally called Coffee Creek and located a little to the south of the current downtown, the name was changed some time after the post office was estab ...

* Chesterton Residential Historic District * George Brown Mansion * Norris and Harriet Coambs Lustron House * New York Central Railroad Passenger Depot, Chesterton, Indiana * Martin Young House

References

External links

Webcam of NS line
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Buildings and structures completed in 1914 Transportation buildings and structures in Porter County, Indiana

Railway stations in the United States opened in 1852 National Register of Historic Places in Porter County, Indiana 1852 establishments in Indiana Railway stations in the United States opened in 1924 Former railway stations in Indiana Railway stations in the United States closed in 1959 {{NYC Main Line stations