Forestville station is a former train station located off 171 Central Street in the Forestville village of

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, th ...

. It was built in 1881 by the

New York and New England Railroad The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...

, and was a key element of the prosperity of the village, benefiting from many daily passenger rail stops. Service to the area ended in 1960. The station, now repurposed to other uses, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on April 19, 1978 as Forestville Passenger Station.

Description and history

Forestville station is located in the heart of Forestville village, on the west side of Central Street, between the former railroad right-of-way it served and the

Pequabuck River The Pequabuck River is a river, approximately 19 miles (30.6 km) in length, which rises in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and courses through neighboring Hartford County before emptying into the Farmington River in Farmington. The river has ...

. It is a small single-story wood frame structure, with a bracketed cornice and a hipped roof topped by a louvered cupola with finial. A platform shelter extends east from the station, supported by square posts with angle brackets. The building originally had a two-story tower, which was lost to fire in 1900. Its footprint is now occupied by a slightly projecting section that historically acted as a vestibule. The station was built in 1881 by the

on a railroad line originally owned by the

Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...

. Local lore says that the building was prefabricated and delivered to the site by the railroad. If this method was used, it was the only instance in which the railroad employed this construction method. The station was served at the outset by 13 trains per day, greatly enhancing the village's economic prosperity. Service to the station was discontinued in 1960.

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{{National Register of Historic Places Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Queen Anne architecture in Connecticut Railway stations in the United States opened in 1881 Railway stations in Hartford County, Connecticut Former New York and New England Railroad stations National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut 1881 establishments in Connecticut Former railway stations in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References

External links