Program

Historic Transportation

Subject

Industry & Commerce, Site, Transportation

Location

440 4th St, Greenport, NY 11944, USA

Lat/Long

41.099573, -72.364552

Grant Recipient

Railroad Museum of Long Island

“Saturday, the 27th of July, 1844, will continue a memorable epoch in the annals of Long Island, and form a dividing line between two eras.”

The “memorable epoch” mentioned in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on July 29th, 1844, was the arrival of three trains of railroad cars to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) terminal in Greenport, marking the opening of the complex and establishing the eastern terminus of the line.

The LIRR Company, chartered in 1834, had carefully selected the site to serve as a waypoint between Brooklyn and Boston, where passengers and freight would go from railroad, to steamer, back to railroad throughout their journey. Though that seems like a great deal of effort, at the time, a route through Connecticut seemed even more arduous for railroad planners. Due to several rivers and wide streams across the land route, the LIRR decided to invest in rail – boat – rail travel, as they believed that it was a more affordable option. To make the land to sea transition smooth, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle quotes the President of the company, who mentions constructing a new pier to allow cars to practically reach the waterfront to make loading and unloading as easy as possible.

This proved promising at first—cutting the lengthy trip between Brooklyn and Boston down several hours from a once even more taxing journey; however, rapid developments in technology finally allowed for the more efficient route through Connecticut to materialize, at which point the LIRR decided to focus its attention on Long Island. Even with the smaller scope, the LIRR proved transformative, allowing increased travel and accessibility, bringing with it an influx of travelers, tourists and folks looking to move there.

The complex, which includes a passenger station, freight depot and other built structures remains intact and of service to the community. Take for example the passenger depot, which now houses the East End Seaport Museum. Similarly, the former freight depot is home to the Rairload Museum of Long Island. Both brick structures were built in 1892 and are contributing properties to the station’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Another interesting feature is the still visible turntable, which allowed cars to turn around.

2024 marks two important benchmarks for the LIRR and Greenport Station, being the 180^th anniversary since the 1834 charter and the 190^th since the opening of the terminus where the marker stands. As of 2024, Greenport Station remains the terminus of the main line for the LIRR.

Links

• East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation
• Railroad Museum of Long Island