Former Passenger Train Station in Vermont
Central Vermont Railway Depot, Northfield Vermont
- Categories:
- Vermont
- Railroad Facility
- Passenger Station
The Central Vermont Railway Depot at Northfield is one of the last extant structures of the great Railroad Shops complex which formed the first headquarters of the then Vermont Central Railroad from 1848-1860. The building, according to current research, is the oldest surviving railroad station in Vermont and is representative of the first generation of railroad passenger facilities built by the Vermont Central.
The structure serves as the visual focus of Northfield's downtown business district and symbolizes the village's former importance as a railroad center. The fact that a bank has been a continuous tenant in the building since 1866 documents the past and future potential of railroad stations for commercial as well as transportation activity.
The original depot at Northfield was built in 1848 and burned in 1852. The present structure was built that same year. The station was once the nucleus of a great railroad headquarters complex including roundhouses, shops, offices, and housing. When the headquarters moved to St. Albans in 1860, the economy of Northfield rapidly declined and did not expand again until the end of the nineteenth century with the growth of the granite industry. Granite sheds replaced the shops on the level flat to the west of the depot.
In 1899 the station was in a deteriorated condition. The wings were removed from the building and the structure was given its present appearance through a pragmatic applique of Queen Anne and Stick Style ornament.
Building Description
The Central Vermont Railroad Depot is located at the west end of an oval green called Depot Square in the village of Northfield, Vermont. The Depot is square in plan, 50' x 49', and is two stories high. The walls are brick laid up in common bond resting on a cut stone foundation.
The structure is capped by a medium-pitch gable roof sheathed with roofing paper. The roof overhangs the wall approximately four feet on all elevations forming pronounced eaves along the sides, which are supported by ornamental rafter tails. A brick exterior chimney is located midway along the north (side) elevation while a brick interior chimney projects through the north roof slope at the front of the building. All windows in the structure have cut stone sills and lintels. The majority of the ground-floor windows have 12/4, and the second-floor windows have 6/1 double-hung sashes.
The front (east) elevation is five bays wide. The main entrance, with multi-paned transom and sidelights, occupies the center bay. The entrance is protected by a gabled canopy supported by two wood out-riggers and is surmounted by a large, three-part rectangular window at the second story. A long rectangular ground-floor window surmounted by a shorter second-floor window of equal width is set in each of the remaining bays. A gold-leafed wood letter sign located between the ground and second-story windows of the south two bays reads "Northfield National Bank." The most striking feature of the front elevation is the stick style, wood gable infill located at the roof peak which culminates in a spool-work sunburst.
The north and south (side) elevations are four bays wide. A window is bricked in on the south elevation and a set of wood steps leading to a second-story fire door is located on the north side.
The trackside (west) elevation is characterized by a tight grouping of rectangular windows, two on the ground and three on the second story, surrounding a projecting bay window at ground level. The ground and second stories are separated by a canopy supported by six wood outriggers. A large loading door is located near each corner at ground level. The gable is also adorned with stick-style infill.
The interior of the station has four large rooms per floor accessible from a central hall and staircase. A small station agent's room encompassing the trackside bay window retains much of its original drawers, tables, and woodwork.
The Northfield National Bank occupies the ground floor. Law offices are situated on the second story. The rear, second story and the station agent's rooms are used for storage.
The building has undergone the following major alterations:
The station originally had two large wings extending to the north and south. These were removed in 1899.
The structure was also extensively remodeled at this time with the addition of Queen Anne style windows and Stick Style exterior ornament.
Five interior chimneys were removed and one exterior chimney was added in the twentieth century.
The gabled canopy over the main entrance was added in the twentieth century.
A one-story platform canopy at trackside dating from the 1899 renovation was removed in the mid-twentieth century.
Front (east) and side (south) elevations (1974)
Stick Style infill of the east roof peak (1974)
Trackside (west) elevation of the depot illustrating the passenger canopy installed in the 1899 renovation (1910)
Photo looking west, illustrating the entire original Vermont Central complex at Northfield. The depot, with its original flanking wings, can be seen at center (1860)
