Hopewell Depot Restoration

Construction is well under way on the stairs to the upper deck of the Switch Tower. The grand opening ribbon cutting is scheduled for May 20.

The Depot will be opening on both Saturdays and Sundays starting in May ( except for Mothers Day).
Stop around and chat for a while.

Our replica of the Switch Tower now has concrete walkways to the restrooms and the vending machine area. The ribbon cutting is scheduled for May 20.

Starting tomorrow May 1 the Depot will be open on Saturdays and Sundays except for Mothers Day.

On Thursday 5/17 I will be doing a railroad talk/slide show at the Mesier Homestead for the Wappingers Historical Society. The subject will be an overview of the Central New England Railway which owned most of the short lines in Dutchess County including the big RR bridge over the Hudson at Poughkeepsie. Show will start at 7:30 and it is open to the public. Come on down and hear about the rich railroad heritage of Dutchess County including the Hopewell Depot Restoration..

CORRECTION The correct date for the RR Talk at the Wappingers Historical Society is 5/12 NOT 5/17.

For those of you who missed the tower ribbon cutting ceremony, The Town of East Fishkill has produced a video of the events. Click on the link below.

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The Depot is now on summer hours and will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

It was a beautiful day for a hike on the Rail Trail today. Lots of visitors for our craft sale.

The new tower restrooms are now open to the public during Rail Trail hours. That would be from Dawn to dusk depending on the season.

Be sure to save the date for next Saturday , 6/11, when there will be a "Musical Evening" of Bluegrass, folk and Americana. The music and festivities will be from 6 to 8 PM. Bring a chair or blanket and join the fun. Free admission but donations are encouraged.

Rain early in the day kept some people away from the Rail Trail but the sun came out in the afternoon. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening for the music. The silent auction brought in some customers. Judging from the clapping and singing, a good time was had by all. The band kept paying till 8:30 PM to rousing applause.

Depot will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

Beautiful weather today and lots of traffic on the Rail Trail but not many stopped at the Depot. They seemed to be more interested in the nice weather. The new restroom facilities in the tower were very popular.

The attachment photo was taken by a drone camera.

The Depot is open on summer hours on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

Perfect weather for a stroll on the Rail Trail. Lots of visitors for the Depot.

Here is another drone photo of the Depot and the Tower.

The Depot will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4 .

Perfect weather for the July 4th weekend. Lots of traffic and visitors.

We now have an original New Haven Railroad 48 star flag that flew over the Depot more than 60 years ago. That flag is out of retirement and on display on the new switch tower.

The Depot will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

Hot weather on the Rail Trail brought lots of visitors to the Depot looking for a cool drink and a cool spot in the Air Conditioning.

The attached photo is one of our displays. Do you know what theses gold cups were for ? They are collapsible and fit the leather pocket case. Stop around to the Depot on Saturday or Sunday and look for them. Our tour guides can tell you the story. If you can't make it to the Depot, I will post the story next week.

Depot summer hours are 10 to 4 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hot weather has cut down the traffic on the Rail Trail but we did have a few looking for cold bottled water and cool spot in the A/C.

The gold cups in last weeks posting were used during Prohibition days. They fit in the leather pocket case and were handy for "emergency use" when a drink was available. This set belonged to the father of one of our Depot volunteers. In talking to some of the "Old Timers" around Hopewell, we found out that the Depot was a "Speakeasy" all during the prohibition era. You could stop here and buy a ticket to travel and get a drink while you waited for the train. There was a pile of empty whisky and beer bottles under the floor of the visitor center Those bottles are now on display at the Depot.

The Depot will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

Does anybody know where the mill was that produced these packages ?

They are on display in the Depot. Stop around and ask one of our tour guides.
I will post the answer next week.

We had quite a few visitors from the Rail Trail today. There was a lot of traffic because of the mild weather and sunshine. Bottles of cold water were popular.

The Depot is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

Lots of visitors at the Depot today, including one from Mexico.

Does anybody remember why the milk bottles were shaped with a narrow top ? The Bordens Milk plant that was next to the Depot processed as much as 6000 gallons of milk a day from local dairy farms. The bottles were put in wooden crates and shipped in box cars to New York City. I will explain it next week.

Last weeks question was about the packages from Stringham Mill. That mill was located on Sprout Creek where route 376 crosses. You may have noticed the concrete silos still standing. The Stringam family lived in the old house on the other side of 376. The Stringhams were very active in East Fishkill and local church activities.

The Depot will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4.

Come and join us for the East Fishkill Community Day Parade. We need volunteers to build and ride in the float in the parade.