Shawmont Station, on the original Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown (later Reading/SEPTA), reported/reputed to have been built in 1834:
Quote:
A treasured Upper Roxborough landmark made the list this month. Shawmont Station made this year’s list of Endangered Places, according to the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. Built in 1834, the station still occupies the original location, 7700 Nixon St., near the Montgomery County border and the Manayunk Canal towpath entrance. It sits along SEPTA’s Manayunk-Norristown Regional rail line.
It is the oldest surviving passenger railroad station in the United States. It was built by the city’s first railroad, the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Railroad. According to the Preservation Alliance, at the time of the station’s construction, the chief designer for PG&N was the famous Philadelphia architect William Strickland, whose other works include Merchant’s Exchange and the Second Bank of the United States.
It is the oldest surviving passenger railroad station in the United States. It was built by the city’s first railroad, the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Railroad. According to the Preservation Alliance, at the time of the station’s construction, the chief designer for PG&N was the famous Philadelphia architect William Strickland, whose other works include Merchant’s Exchange and the Second Bank of the United States.
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/ ... 985753.txt
http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/12/enda ... t-station/
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 99&t=52103
There have been questions raised by some station historians as to the veracity of the "1834" construction claim, which came about more recently than previous "ca. 1855" speculation. The line was definitely opened to service in 1834, but no one has yet to my knowledge offered proof that the building was actually constructed then and not at a later date. Some have claimed that the building's "Greek Revival" design was popular in the 1830s, while others say such a design would be later into the 1840s. The building was definitely added to in later Philadelphia & Reading days, and does look more like a repurposed farmhouse or tavern than a station.
