Laurel (LIRR station)

History

The station was built in the hamlet of Franklinville, and after securing a Post Office in February 1898, they had to change its name as there already was a Franklinville in Cattaraugus County. The residents voted to choose the name "Laurel" after the local lake. The station is mentioned in the Gazetteer of the State of New York in 1872.

In light of the farming, gardening, small fruit raising, and cultivation of root crops, a freight depot was established following the arrival of the railroad right-of-way. It was reported in 1887 that the total number of barrels of cauliflower carted from the depot was 3,762. The building was renovated in the summer of 1879 to afford better accommodations for passenger service. In the fall of 1895, new interior floors and new roof shingles were installed as well as new platform planks. Regular passenger service appears on timetables in April 1891. On the timetables the name Franklinville first appears in April 1891, then disappears to reappear in September 1892. Then the name disappears again but reappears in June 1894. It is listed as Franklinville as late as Employee Timetable #3 from June 1897, when the superintendent of the LIRR ordered that names be the same as the postal jurisdiction. With the opening of the Laurel Post Office, Franklinville was revised as well. By the summer of 1898, timetables reflected the modifications, with Franklinville remaining in parentheses. Thereafter it was simply Laurel. Soon after the station became a signal stop only.

At Laurel, a small shack depot replaced the former structure in 1901. In 1910, the building was the setting for a controversy between the LIRR and the Post Office as to who should haul the mail from the station because of the location of the depot’s entry. Tape measures revealed that it was the railroad’s responsibility. However, soon after a second door was cut into the depot making it the Post Office’s obligation.

Due to the long distance to New York City and the fact there was no high-speed electric service, commuter ridership at Riverhead stations, such as Laurel was minimal. Statistics from the winter of 1930 reveal that there were no daily commuters to western LIRR terminals, and there was no change the following summer. The low numbers at Laurel, forced the railroad to take action. As early as 1925, the LIRR petitioned the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to allow for the discontinuation of its Laurel station agent. The PSC denied the request on July 14, 1925. Nevertheless, the LIRR won a second request in May 1938 and was allowed to close the Laurel agency. The stipulation was that the company maintain suitable facilities for the receipt of carload and less-than-carload shipments of freight. Since it was a non-agency station, it was placed under control of nearby Mattituck. In the next few months in 1939, the Laurel depot was made into a shelter by boarding up the windows and removing the track-side wall. The shed was razed in the year 1967.

On February 19, 1962, LIRR Road ‘n Rail began with no bus stop for Laurel. A discontinuation of select rail service began as a result signaled the beginning of the end of train service to Laurel.

Prior to the MTA takeover, the railroad ended mail transportation services on June 18, 1965. Newspapers however were still carried on the railroad, and delivery was still provided weekdays to Laurel on the following trains in the fall of 1965: number 204 eastbound in Laurel at 11:20 a.m., and number 211 westbound in Laurel at 3:27 p.m. Service was provided on Saturdays on the eastbound morning train number 4206 and the afternoon westbound number 4211. It would be the last service of any kind to the communities. The following spring, the newspaper stops were removed from the daily schedule. Laurel remained listed on employee timetables through May 1966 and on timetables dated May 22, 1967 they were dropped. The Laurel shelter was also demolished sometime in 1967.