The Potter Place Railroad Station is a historic

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

on Depot Street in

Andover, New Hampshire Andover is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,406 at the 2020 census. Andover includes the villages of Cilleyville, Potter Place, East Andover, and West Andover, in addition to the town center. The to ...

. Built in 1874, it is one of the best-preserved surviving 19th-century railroad stations in Merrimack County. It now houses the museum of the Andover Historical Society. It was listed on 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 v ...

in 1989.

Description and history

The Potter Place Railroad Station is located in what is now a relatively rural setting, between Depot Street and the former railroad right-of-way of the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

, now used for the Northern Rail Trail. Depot Street is in part a historical alignment of the main east–west road through Andover, now bypassed by

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a long United States highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed North-South to reflect its alignment in the s ...

. The building is a single-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof. The roof has long eaves, which are supported by large decoratively carved brackets and feature ornamental carving at the eave. The street-facing roof face is pierced by two gabled dormers. The walls are finished in vertical board siding, with applied Stick style elements, especially in the upper sections. On the track-facing facade is a projecting bay, through which run controls for a working

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

signal. The Northern Railroad was a line run between

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

, and

White River Junction, Vermont White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Hartford, Vermont, Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2 ...

, beginning in 1847. This station was built to serve that line in 1874. At the time of its National Register listing, it was one of fourteen surviving railroad stations in Merrimack County, of which most had been substantially altered. This station, sold by the railroad in 1961, underwent a careful restoration in the 1970s, and was taken over by the Andover Historical Society in 1983.

Andover Historical Society Museum

The station is the primary museum building of the Andover Historical Society, and features an early to mid 20th century period station master's office. An early 20th century

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

is located next to the station. The Society's other museum buildings include an early 20th-century railroad freight house displaying agricultural machinery and ice harvesting tools, a restored turn-of-the-20th-century village store, an early 20th-century post office, and the Tucker Mountain Schoolhouse. The Society's museum buildings are open on summer weekends. The homestead site and grave of magician Richard Potter and his wife are located across the railroad right-of-way from the station.

References

External links

Andover Historical Society
Potter_Place_Railroad_Station

{{authority control Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Queen Anne architecture in New Hampshire Railway stations in the United States opened in 1874 Transportation buildings and structures in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Museums in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Open-air museums in New Hampshire Railroad museums in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Andover, New Hampshire Former railway stations in New Hampshire

Description and history

Andover Historical Society Museum

See also

References

External links