The building is so recognizable- a hipped roof, with dormers, long sheltering eaves supported by ornate wooden brackets, board and batten siding and multi-paned windows with jeweled-colored glass. On the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Noxen's classic depot is more characteristic of it's cousins in central New York State than those in Pennsylvania along the Bowmans Creek Line.
Noxen's depot is one of only three of it's type still standing. So when local visionary, Dr. Doug Ayers, proposed the restoration of this building, constructed in 1893, there was a resounding response among historic building proponents. Chief among these are the building's owners, David and Elaine Dembowski, who have pledged to donate the building and land to the Land Trust if it is restored and maintained for public use. Linda Thoma, Executive Director of the Land Trust; Larry Newman, planner; Mitch Rowland, contractor; Rob Lewis, architect; and Ben Jones attorney, have worked with Doug Ayers to secure an $18,000 grant just awarded by the Endless Mountains Heritage Region to stabilize the structure and plan for it's reconstruction and use.
Among railroad history enthusiasts, this project has already generated considerable interest. Dr. Arthur Baker, a land trust member who has a life long fascination with railroads. has already donated a Lehigh Valley Railroad bulletin board from his private collection for the completed structure. It is anticipated that many others will donate time and materials toward the station's restoration.
From it's inception in 1853, the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) was intended to carry coal from the Wyoming Valley to New York State. But the Bowmans Creek Branch, begun in 1886, under the direction of lumber baron, Albert Lewis, served five industries - coal, lumber, ice, tanning and farming - and passengers in towns from Wilkes-Barre to Noxen, Rickets, Mountain Springs, Lopez, Brenice, Dushore, Towanda, Sayre and into central New York.
The Noxen depot, once fully restored, is intended to be a community and educational center. It will tell the storey of the people and industries of the area and serve as a gateway to the Endless Mountains. Eventually it may be a place for tourists to stop for a glass of lemonade along the trail between Luzerne and Dushore. |
