North Easton station is a former railroad station designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson. It is located just off Oliver Street in North Easton, Massachusetts, and currently houses the Easton Historical Society. The station was built in 1881 and served commuter trains until 1958. It 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 ...

in 1972 as Old Colony Railroad Station. In 1987, it also became part of the

H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton The H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton is a National Historic Landmark District in the village of North Easton in Easton, Massachusetts. It consists of five buildings designed by noted 19th-century architect Henry Hobson Richard ...

, a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. The proposed Phase 2 of

South Coast Rail South Coast Rail is a project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The line has been planned to restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton, ...

would return commuter rail service to the location in 2030 as Easton Village station.

History

The Easton Branch Railroad opened from Stoughton to North Easton on May 16, 1855. Originally part of the

Boston and Providence Railroad The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a ...

, it became part of the Dighton and Somerset Railroad in 1866. A new station was commissioned in 1881 by Frederick Lothrop Ames, director of the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall Ri ...

, during the same year that Richardson designed the

Ames Gate Lodge The Ames Gate Lodge is a celebrated work by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. It is privately owned on an estate landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, but its north facade can be seen from the road at 135 Elm Street, North Easton, Massach ...

for his nearby estate.

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...

landscaped its grounds. It is a relatively small station, a single story in height with Richardson's characteristic heavy masonry and outsized roof. Its long axis runs north-south with the tracks, now disused, along its west side. The building is laid out symmetrically within, with a large passenger room at each end (one for women, the other for men). The station's facade is constructed of rough-faced, random ashlar of gray granite with a brownstone belt course and trim. Two large, semicircular arches punctuate each of the long facades, inset with windows and doorways, and ornamented with carvings of a beast's snarling head; a further semicircular arch projects to form the east facade's porte-cochere. Eaves project deeply over all sides, supported by plain wooden

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or ' ...

. Commuter rail service past Stoughton was cut on September 5, 1958. In 1969, the Ames family purchased the property from the

Penn Central Railroad The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

and gave it to the historical society. It was added to the

in 1972. In 1987, it also became part of the

, a

. A new MBTA Commuter Rail station, Easton Village, is proposed to be built at the site as part of the

project. An high-level platform will be constructed across the track from the historic building.

References

External links

* *
Easton Historical Society
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Railway stations in the United States opened in 1855 Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic American Buildings Survey in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Bristol County, Massachusetts Stations along Old Colony Railroad lines Easton, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Bristol County, Massachusetts Former railway stations in Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts 1855 establishments in Massachusetts MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Bristol County, Massachusetts Railway stations closed in 1958 Railway stations scheduled to open in 2030 Proposed MBTA Commuter Rail stations

History

See also

References

External links