Newark Passenger Railroad Station

Designed by architect and engineer S.T. Fuller, the Newark Passenger Railroad Station was built in 1877 at a cost of over $9,000.00 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (P.W. & B.) to replace an earlier frame building. An article published in the Railroad Gazette on April 26, 1878, offered an extensive report on the new station, summarizing it as “very commodious and neatly designed…” Arranged brickwork, intricate wood trim, a slate roof with decorative iron scrollwork, and other Victorian details characterized the exterior. The interior of the two-floor building featured separate waiting rooms for men and women, an office and baggage room, kitchen cellar, bedrooms, and a sitting room. Telegraph service provided by Western Union, commuter trains to Wilmington and Philadelphia, and a small freight station located across the tracks were among the services offered. The station developed into a main center of activity due to its important location at the junctions of the P.W. &B.’s line with both the Delaware Railroad and the Pomeroy Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. As a result, the city’s expansion became concentrated towards its southern limits. In the 1970s, the station was closed and decommissioned by then-owner Amtrak; the City of Newark purchased the station in 1986. After securing grant monies, restoration work began in late summer 1988 on the men’s waiting rooms, modernizing and rehabilitating upstairs offices, and rebuilding exterior “piazza” canopies. Newark continues to support and maintain the station, now home to the Newark Historical Society, to ensure lasting knowledge of its history within the community and as a focal point along its multipurpose trail system. The Newark Passenger Station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.