All Aboard: 1870s Roxbury Depot re-opens as Catskills rail museum
When
the hamlet of Roxbury turned back the clock to the 19th Century on Saturday,
the Roxbury Depot Museum at the end of Bridge Street was the first stop for
visitors on the heritage tourism trail, with Depot Museum tours part of the
day's immersion in the 19th century. State Assemblyman Clifford Crouch was
among the many visitors riding the rails into yesteryear and enjoying the
new museum along the way. The Roxbury Brass gave arriving train passengers
a spirited Sousa welcome. After a few hours in nineteenth century Roxbury,
rail visitors boarded the DURR for the relaxing and scenic ride back to Arkville,
with the Catskills spring in all its rural splendor.
“With the growth of heritage tourism, we strongly believe that the Roxbury Depot Museum will become a sought-after destination in the region. Tourists can ride up from Arkville on the Delaware & Ulster Railroad and leave their cars at the depot,” said Doug Kadow, president of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society (UDRRHS).
After passenger
trains stopped in 1954, the Depot lingered on as a freight station until
1959. The Roxbury Depot then served as a feed warehouse and auto body shop.
It is sheathed in a web of corrugated metal which protected it from the elements
for decades. Hidden beneath this camouflage sits the original 1872 railroad
station and 1890s waiting room and ticket office, with its unusual stained-glass
window and what is purported to be the first indoor flush toilet in the county.
When the Depot was offered for sale in 2000, the late Steven Delibert, then president of the Society, purchased it on the Society’s behalf. After several years of research and repairs, the Society formally opened the the Roxbury Depot Museum in October 2006, with memorabilia from the railroads that originally used the depot.
The Depot Museum’s display panels outline the history of these railroads and the towns and villages they served in Ulster, Delaware, Greene and Schoharie counties. The museum is open May 26 through October 28 on Saturday and Sundays and July 5 -August 31 on Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To become a UDRRHS member and/or support the Society’s restoration and preservation goals visit www.udrrhs.com.
