Hawthorne Station Restoration Building

Overview

Opinion Eligibility of State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO)

The first station to serve Hawthorne in the early 1870’s via the New Jersey Midland Railway was located on Wagaraw Road. Midland trains terminated here and passengers descended stairs to transfer to trains run by the Erie Railroad for points east of Hawthorne. By the early-1890’s Hawthorne’s population began to steadily increase. New residents began to settle and develop in area slightly west of the Wagaraw Road station. The New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad (successor to the New Jersey Midland) constructed a new station in 1894 and called it “Hawthorne” to meet the needs of the residents in the downtown area. This small station continued to serve the borough’s commuter’s needs until June 30, 1966 when the Susquehanna ceased passenger operations.

The railroad leased the building for many years, most notably to a local newspaper dealer and more recently to Volunteer Railroaders Association. The Volunteer Railroaders Association through various fund raising activities was able on September 17, 2010 to move the station 75 feet north from its original location. This was done to protect the building from structural damage resulting from tractor trailers turning from Royal Avenue onto Diamond Bridge Avenue. A small park is planned for the former station site.
This was not the first time residents were interested in moving the station. Hawthorne wanted to make a transit center in the early 1940s, which required the relocation of the station. The original plan was to move the station to sit across from Ashley Avenue on Royal Avenue. The last set of blueprints were drawn up in 1941, and the project was abandoned when the U.S. entered World War II in December of that year.

Hawthorne
updated 01/2019 by HawthorneNJ