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(rshsdepot) Newcastle, ME
http=3A//www=2Emainelincolncountynews=2Ecom/index=2Ecfm=3FID=3D7660
Preservation Group Shines Spotlight on Newcastle Railroad Station =
By Judi Finn =
=
Martha Mayo addresses the crowd =
A train whistle to signal the revival of the 1871 Newcastle railroad stat=
ion would have been a fitting tribute to the June 16 ceremony for Maine P=
reservation=92s announcement of the station=92s nomination as an endanger=
ed historic property=2E
Martha Mayo=2C president of the trustees=2C said there has to be a local =
group and committed people to oversee the protection of threatened proper=
ties in order to see the project through=2E
The Newcastle Historical Society stepped up and gathered the necessary hi=
storical documentation and has a scrapbook chronicling the golden age for=
the station=2E Its vice president Carroll Dinsmore wrote the application=
to Maine Preservation for the nomination=2E In the 1960s Louis Doe of Ne=
wcastle bought the station=2C which is located on Academy Hill=2C and has=
been caretaking the station ever since=2C using it for storage=2E He agr=
eed to sell the building in order for it to be returned to its original u=
se=2E
The nomination helps shine a spotlight on the property=2C Mayo said=2E =93=
We need to encourage people to submit proposals=2C=94 because there are m=
any more properties around the state that need to be saved=2E
=93What happened here is a prototype=2C=94 she said=2E Mayo sang a line f=
rom a Joni Mitchell tune=2C =93You don=92t know what you=92ve got till it=
=92s gone=2C=94 and said that new generations have a responsibility to ca=
re for =93tangible links to the past=2E=94
Trustee Sally Beaudette of Walpole said she watched the leadership come t=
ogether and bring to life the station=92s chances for preservation=2E =93=
It stood here unchanged and was taken good care of=2E It has not fallen d=
own because of Louis=2C=94 but she said it had lost its public purpose=2E=
=93It was a useful part of the community=2C=94 said Newcastle Historical =
Society President Bill Dunning=2E =93This train station is one piece of o=
ur history and day by day we lose a little=2E To save it we have to get p=
eople involved=2E=94 He urged people to donate services and money=2E =93M=
aybe the publicity we=92re going to get through this=2C people will come =
forward=2E=94
Dunning was unable to provide even preliminary figures for getting the st=
ation back in operation=2E =93If the =5Btrain=5D service is coming=2C we =
want it to be used as a train station=2E=94
Newcastle Selectman Phil Wright=2C who has had previous discussions with =
the state department of transportation about the station=2C said there ma=
y be some grant money available for the project=2E
Maine Preservation representatives also announced the other nominees on t=
he endangered list on June 16 and they are Daicey Pond Camp cottages in B=
axter State Park=3B the Carry Road and Lakewood Camps in Upton=3B Halfway=
Rock Lighthouse in Harpswell=3B the Walker Art Museum at Bowdoin College=
in Brunswick=3B and threatened steeples=2C towers and town meeting halls=
statewide=2E
For more information about the Maine Preservation nomination process=2C c=
all 775-3652 or e-mail maineprs=40gwi=2Enet=2E =
=
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------
End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #931
*******************************
=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org