Stepney Depot 3 (1905 – Present)
Welcome back, Monroe history lovers. This week’s historical spotlight takes us to the lower west side of town to 54 Maple Drive in Stepney Depot. There, standing quietly beside the road, is a preserved relic, a surviving testament to our railroading past that all started back in February 1840. Many of you have likely driven by it and have not known the history of the building or its two predecessors. So, are you ready to learn more? Let’s hit the tracks and see what’s going on over there.
As you may recall from previous historical posts, the first railroad station in Lower Stepney was named Leavenworth’s Mills, so named for Captain Andrew Leavenworth’s successful milling enterprise. The first station building was Captain Leavenworth’s store and post office, which still stands today as a privately owned rental property at the sharp bend in the road at 27 Maple Drive. With regard to our railroad history, we refer to this building as Stepney Depot 1. Our first supporting image is a collage I’ve created from photos of the building taken in the 1890s and early 1900s. Today, the store is mostly associated with one of its later owners named Stephen French, whose former home stands at the northwest corner of Purdy Hill Road and Doc Silverstone Drive, right at the entrance to Great Hollow Lake.
Our second supporting image is the first formal purpose-built station building and depot to serve the area. We refer to this as Stepney Depot 2. It was a relatively short-lived structure, built circa 1895, which stood on the east side of the tracks directly opposite the store and post office then owned by Stephen French. In less than a decade of use, the station building and its connected freight depot proved too small to adequately serve the growing passenger and freight needs of the railroad and community, and it was decided to replace it with a new larger station building and freight depot, just a short walking distance to the north.
The first indication of the new Stepney Depot 3, our third and final station, came in 1903 when the Newtown Bee published, “A new railroad station and freight depot are soon to be erected at Stepney. We trust it may in time, as it has been a long-felt need by the public.” Stepney Depot 3 opened in mid-February 1905. The Bee published on February 10th, “Wires are being put into the new depot, and it now looks as if it would be open to the public by the last of this week...” On February 17th,the Bee published, “The new depot was opened to the public, last week.”
Our third supporting image dates to 1908 and shows the townsfolk gathered on the passenger platform while the northbound train from Beers’ Mills Station in Trumbull pulls into Stepney Depot. Note the early automobile peeking out from around the corner of the station. The depot’s water tower, Stephen French’s store, and Andrew Barnum Curtiss’ mansion are seen in the distance to the south. Our fourth supporting image is a more recent photo of the surviving Stepney Depot 3, which today is privately owned and had been utilized for many years by a local business for their storage and maintenance needs.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s historical spotlight on the surviving Stepney Depot 3 station building. Please share this post with your family and friends, and thank you for your continued support and interest in Monroe’s rich railroad history. It’s always worth your time to slow down and take in the details of our history as you drive through town. As I’m known to say, “Our past is always present.” Until next time. You may not know where the track ends, but persevere and you shall see.
Regards,
Kevin Daly
Historian, Monroe Historical Society
www.monroecthistory.org
Our Past is Always Present
