2. Carloads of freight and passengers began or ended their journey here.
Holsopple was a major business
point on the
Somerset & Cambria, a branch
line of the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad which ran from
Rockwood to Johnstown, Pa.
3. The original station was built by the Somerset
& Cambria Railroad about 1880.
It was destroyed by a fire in 1915,
originating in the White Oak Mill directly
across the tracks.
4. The current station was
built in 1916 at a cost of
$3,040.00, and served the
community for about 60
years.
5. The station closed in the 1970s. It sat empty for a few years, then was donated
to the community with the stipulation that it be moved off railroad property.
7. A system of I-beams, jacks, cables and pulleys, along with lots of
manpower moved the station from the old foundation to the new.
8. After the members of the first restoration committee died, the station slowly
deteriorated for a decade.
9. A new organization was formed in 1994 to raise funds to restore the
station. In 2000, a new metal roof replaced the original slate.
10. The bay window was disintegrated
beyond repair, and needed to be
totally rebuilt.
11. Students and faculty from the Building Preservation/Restoration program at
Belmont College in Ohio rebuilt and restored the bay windows’ sashes and
frames, then installed them in reconstructed openings.
They also repaired the two exterior doors.
16. The three interior rooms were primed and painted by Kara Shaffer and
Jenna Huss for their high school senior project. The colors chosen were
based on existing paint in the far waiting room.
17. The words “TICKET OFFICE” were discovered painted on the ticket window
frame under layers of old paint. This was restored after the frames were
repainted.
18. Grants from state and local sources, and donations from local citizens,
provided funds for exterior improvements.
19. Finally, new gingerbread brackets, a new station sign, and the reconstructed
outside doors were rehung. We sure have come a long way since 1994!
