The South Side Railroad incorporated in 1860 and arrived through Lindenhurst in 1867, naming the station “Wellwood”, a mispelling of village co-founder Thomas Welwood’s last name. Eventually, the station name was changed to “Breslau”, the original name of the village, and by 1876, the Long Island Railroad had acquired the line.A west bound South Side Railroad train stands in frong of Nehring’s Hotel.A close-up shows the rail line’s name emblazoned on the side of the coal car.The South Side Railroad Wellwood station depot only served for several years until 1870 when it was moved to school street to serve as the first Village school building as it appears here.
After being replaced by a new school building in 1876, the old depot continued on in several uses including as a private residence where, considerably altered, it still stands to this day.
A more recent photo of the same home from the opposite direction. The original depot/school building is the far side, to the right of the front door with the rest being additions made over the years.By 1871, the new Breslau depot had been built, seen here in the distance toward the middle of the photo, just beyond the intersection of Hoffman and Wellwood Avenues, looking east. On the left are Nehring’s hotel and the old Wagner building, with Gleste’s Hotel and the still standing old bank building on the right. This was the entire Village business district at the time.The 1870 Breslau depot, which also housed the local telegraph and post office. Village co-founder Charles S. Schleier reportedly paid $2.300 for its construction. This depot building served for just over 30 years, when it was destroyed by fire in January of 1901, to be replaced by the deopt building which currently stands as a museum in Irmisch Park on South Broadway.A close-up reveals the new station name of “Lindenhurst”, adopted by the railroad when the village was re-named in 1891.An eastbound trains sits at the station in 1897, with Station Conductor Burchill & Trainman Lawrence in this view looking west. The top of Nehring’s hotel can be glimpsed just above the locomotive.
Next time: A new depot for a new century. Also, don’t forget to register for our monthly Zoom presentation “Zooming Through Lindy History” on the Library Website https://lindenhurst.librarycalendar.com/. The next installments are “Early Industry”, Wednesday, May 19, 2:00 pm and “Houses of Worship”, Wednesday, June 23, 2:00 pm.
Also, we are featuring a Zoom discussion on the upcoming Babylon Town Sesquicentennial with Town Historian Mary Cascone on Wednesday, June 9, 2:00 pm and a Zoom Virtual Visit to the American Airpower Museum in East Farmingdale with museum staff member Lawrence Starr on Wednesday, May 26, 2:00 pm. Please register using the above link.
We are also looking for any old photos of Lindenhurst that we may borrow, copy and return to the owner. Please contact Librarian Peter Muhr, pmuhr@lindenhurstlibrary.org, 631-957-7755. ext. 135.
